


To Be Or Not To Be

by Shawnathin93



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Rating May Change, Theater AU, because I needed to write some eremin, fluff will ensue, so cliche it hurts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-10-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 15:11:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 27,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1231114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shawnathin93/pseuds/Shawnathin93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin, the president of Trost High School's theater department, has a life full of bullying and fear. He has his life turned upside down, however, when a certain boy auditions for the part of Hamlet.</p><p>Mature for a little bit of chapter 6 and FINALLY THE FRICKLE FRACKLE Changes it to explicit.</p><p>Completed on 10/27/2014</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Auditions

**Author's Note:**

> So, I really felt a need to write this. Not the story, just some Eremin in general. Yeah.

“Jean, I swear to god if you don’t give me that god damn skull, I’m going to have to borrow yours instead”.

 

This was about the biggest threat Armin could muster. Even as he said it, he couldn’t help but smile. It just went against who he was to make threats. He found himself laughing at that.

 

Armin and Jean, Trost High School’s Theater president and vice-president, were all sitting in chairs at the front of the stage. The time had again come to hold auditions for their fall play. The fall play was always the play that brought in the most recruits, and as the school itself was small, getting people to join the theater department was no easy task. Of course, it would go a lot easier if their teacher hadn’t chosen Hamlet. _Hamlet._ Mind you, Armin loved the play, but getting people to join? Next to impossible in a high school production.

 

“Next!” Jean shouted. A short haired boy walked on stage. “What’s your name?” Jean asked lazily.

 

“Connie!” The boy replied.

 

“Alright Connie, show us what you’ve got.”

 

Connie nodded, closed his eyes to mentally collect himself, and started.

 

“To be, or not to be. That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the…” Armin groaned to himself. Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ , used this audition piece. Yes, it was the main attraction of Hamlet, but if everyone does something, it loses all uniqueness.

 

The next person to audition, a freckled boy by the name of Marco, walked on stage. Before he even began his speech, Jean had all of his attention focused on him. Marco started, “To be, or not to be…” and Armin had already zoned out. Seriously? Two in a row already? Come on people, have some originality. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he almost missed the name of the next person called out.

 

“My name is Eren Yeager!” Woah, he’d even said his last name. Let’s hear the third “to be or not to be” audition, and call it a hat trick. Armin opened his eyes. Oh holy cow. Holy freakin cow. This boy was gorgeous. His hair was brown, and though it was very, very messy…it worked on him. He wore blue skinny jeans, a blue and black plaid shirt, and converse. Armin had to stop himself from staring, and focus on what he was saying. He was just in time to hear the Audition.

 

Eren closed his eyes, then began. “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! In form and moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”

 

Okay, that did it. Armin decided right then and there that he would marry this boy. In all actuality, he knew this would never happen. Armin was a theater geek who had absolutely no qualities about him worth mention. He could have listed off about fifty on Eren and he’d only been in a room with him for about 30 seconds.

 

Once Eren had finished his speech, he had bowed, and walked off stage. The bow had resulted in a snicker from Jean, as no one had bowed so far. Armin already knew who he wanted to play Hamlet, so he zoned out for most of the auditions. He paid only enough attention to gauge a general understanding of the people’s acting abilities, so that he could cast them in supporting roles later.

 

After the auditions were over, Jean and Armin sat talking about who they wanted to cast. Jean wanted Marco to play Hamlet, saying he possessed a skill that was “rarely seen” in theater, and that his ‘to be or not to be’ speech had been done in a way that Jean had “never seen before”. Armin new it was crap, and that the only reason he wanted Marco to play hamlet was one of the reasons that Armin wanted Eren to.

 

When Armin expressed his idea for Hamlet to Jean, it seemed to upset him. “Did you see him? He seemed like a pompous little dick.” This elicited a chuckle from Armin, who just smiled at him. In the end, Armin won, and they decided to give Eren a callback for Hamlet, and Marco a callback for The Ghost, Hamlet’s recently deceased father. Armin also decided to cast himself as Horatio, Hamlet's best friend. Did he feel bad about that? Maybe a little...just a little...

 

As he was walking back to his car to leave, Armin found himself thinking, “You know, maybe this won’t be such a bad year after all.”


	2. The Cast List

Armin was waiting in the school cafeteria line for the food he knew would give him stomach issues later. It just wasn't food meant for humans. This was, however, the first day he’d forgotten to pack a lunch, so he had to crawl out of the theater room and make his way into the foreign zone he knew as the lunch room.

 

Armin didn’t have many friends. His friend list consisted only of theater students, and he was perfectly okay with that. While most theater students had outside friends to hang out with, he only ever had the people he’d come to love through the department. Because of this, he ate inside the drama room every day. He didn't usually eat alone, as someone would always be in there goofing off, and he usually had a good time. The days when he was alone kind of sucked, but it was manageable.

 

Armin moved slowly up the line. It was almost his turn to get today’s grunge food. Great, crap with a side of more crap. He chuckled to himself.

 

He was brought out of his thoughts by a tap on the shoulder. Turing, he was startled to see Eren, a smile on his face, standing in front of him.

 

“Hi!” he said, cheerily. His smile was contagious. Armin found himself smiling and couldn't stop.

 

“Hello!” Armin said, trying to stay calm while retaining a cheery persona.

 

Eren got in line behind him, upsetting the person behind him. He turned and said that he wasn't getting food, and just wanted to talk to Armin. That caught him off guard. Eren…getting in line…just to see him? Why?

 

“So,” Eren said “Have you posted the cast list yet?” Ahh..of course it was about this. No one ever came up to Armin just to talk.

 

“Not yet, I’ll post it later today. And I can’t tell you anything now so don’t bother asking,” Armin said in a cheery, half-joking tone of voice.

 

“Okay! By the way, what was your name?” Eren asked.

 

“Armin.” He replied.

 

“Nice to meet you, Armin” he said, holding out his hand, which Armin hesitantly took. “Well, I've gotta get back to my friends, but I look forward to being in the play, even if I don’t get the main part.” He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote something down. “Here, when you have the list, can you text me and let me know? Other than football, I’m completely free all quarter, and football ends soon anyway.” So, he played football as well. This boy was freakin’ perfect.

 

Eren handed him the scrap of paper and walked away. Armin looked down and found a number scribbled on it. Eren had…given him his number? Armin knew he shouldn't look into it, that it was just to find out about the cast list, but it still made him smile. Armin grabbed his lunch, which didn't look so bad now, and left for the theater room.

 

Today was one of those days where Armin was left alone in the theater room. Normally, it would dampen his mood, but today was an exception. Just talking to Eren for a little bit made lunch not so bad.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

 

Armin added the number to his phone and added Eren’s name. He now had ten contacts, which for him, was quite an accomplishment. He sent a text to him.

 

**A: Hey Eren! I’ll be putting the cast list up in about 15 minutes!**

 

He started walking towards the theater room to put up the cast list. Checking his phone, he saw a message from Eren.

 

**E: Sweet! I’ll be there soon. I can’t stay 2 late today. I have football practice for tomorrow’s big game.**

 

Armin was a little worried about Eren making rehearsals, but he put it out of his mind. He had Eren said that football was almost over, and Armin believed him.

 

He was almost to the door when something collided with him, sending him flying. Armin’s face hit the floor, sending stars cascading across his vision. He tasted blood. Before he could get up, he was thrust into the air by his collar, and the person in question said “Hey, faggot, how about we play a game?” So, this was happening again? It was like the third time this week. Armin, as per usual, gave in. He took several punches, as well as a few kicks. As Armin curled up in a ball and prepared for the real terror to begin, he heard a grunt and a thud. He looked up to see Eren, a fist colliding with the other boy’s face. The boy crumpled and didn’t get up. Eren held out his hand for Armin, who gingerly took it, getting up.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked.

 

“I…I think so. I don’t think anything is broken. This happens all the time, it’s really okay.”

 

“He’s done this before?” Looking over, Eren chuckled at the heap who had yet to rise. “Well I doubt he’ll do it again.”

 

Not only had Eren blessed him with his presence, but he’d protected him as well. Armin found himself blushing, and said “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

 

“It was nothing. Shall we put up that cast list?”

 

“Yeah” was all Armin said. He went over to the door, and taped up the cast list.

 

Eren was the first to take a look.

 

**CAST LIST**

**Hamlet** ………………………………………………………………………………… **Eren Yeager**

 **Claudius** ………………………………………………………………………… **Thomas Wagner**

 **Gertrude** ………………………………………………………………………… **Annie Leonhart**

 **Polonius** ……………………………………………………………………… **Connie Springer**

 **Horatio** ……………………………………………………………………………… **Armin Arlert**

 **Ophelia** ……………………………………………………………………… **Mikasa Ackerman**

 **Laertes** ……………………………………………………………………………… **Jean Kirstein**

 **The Ghost** ……………………………………………………………………………… **Marco Bott**

 **Rosencrantz** …………………………………………………………………… **Bertolt Hoover**

 **Guildenstern** ……………………………………………………………………… **Reiner Braun**

 **Voltimand** …………………………………………………………………………… **Sasha Braus**

 **Cornelius** ……………………………………………………………………………………… **Ymir**

 **Marcellus** ………………………………………………………………………… **Historia Reiss**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone, even if it's just a fun thing I felt the need to write :3


	3. The Bus

Armin woke up the next morning in a very cheerful mood. He was already a morning person, and adding in this cheeriness would only piss Mikasa off more. Armin chuckled to himself as he opened his eyes and looked over to see that he’d woken up fifteen minutes before his alarm was to go off. “Good” he thought to himself, “I’ll be able to take a longer shower.”

 

Eren was elated when he’d found out about his part. He’d given Armin a hug that lifted him off the ground, saying “Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” and would not even listen to Armin’s muffled attempts to say “You earned the role, I had nothing to do with it”. He smiled at the memory.

 

He was so lost in thought about Eren that he failed to notice the little green light blinking on his phone that showed a new text message. Oblivious to it, he got up, grabbed both a towel and a change of clothes, and went to take a shower.

 

Thirty minutes later, after the hot water started running out, he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and got dressed. Walking downstairs and heading for the kitchen, he turned the burner on “Low.” He loved cooking everything at a low temperature when he had the time. It really allowed the flavor to come out in the slow cooking.

 

Once the burner was ready, he tossed the scrambled eggs he’d mixed into the pan, popped some bread in the toaster, and threw some precooked sausages in the microwave. As much as he loved cooking, he had a hidden love for precooked sausage and bacon. It was a little odd.

 

After the food was done, he put it all on a plate, poured himself some milk and headed to the dining room table to eat and study for an exam that was almost two weeks away. “Couldn’t hurt to be ready for it”, he thought.

 

Content with this, he studied until it was time to get ready to go. He put his book back in his bag, washed his plate and cup, and then headed upstairs to grab his wallet and phone. When he finally looked at it, he found four… _really…four?!_ messages from Eren.

 

 **E:** **Hey, I just wanted to tha**

 

 **E:** **Damn thing sent without me hitting the button. I just wanted to thank u for the part. I no u said u didn’t have anything to do with it, but still. Thanks.**

 

**E: Want to walk to school with me today? We can talk about our parts, and maybe even get some rehearsing in.**

 

**E: You must still be asleep or something. Maybe next time!**

 

Every time he saw a grammar error, his eye twitched slightly, but he let it go.

 

Armin finished reading the messages, and let out his breath, realizing he’d been holding it the entire time. Great job Armin, way to miss the perfect opportunity to get to know Mr. Hamlet and football star. “Oh well” he thought to himself, “Nothing I can do about it now.” And with that, he headed out to the bus stop for work. He owned a car, but felt no need to take it unless he was doing something after school. There weren’t any rehearsals today, and he never really had anyone to hang out with other than rehearsal.

 

Once he was on the bus, he pulled out his phone again, and quickly sent a reply to Eren.

 

 **A:** **Hey, I wasn’t asleep, but I didn’t check my phone, and didn’t have it on me when I was getting ready to go.**

 

He knew Eren wouldn’t be mad, but part of him just assumed he had already screwed up in some way. He was just starting to worry about it way too much when he felt his phone vibrate. Looking down, he saw Eren had replied.

 

**E: No worries. Where do you live, by the way? I know I mentioned walking earlier, but I realized that I have no idea where you live, and walking could be difficult if we’re on opposite sides of town >.< hahaha.**

 

Wow, not even one grammar mistake this time. Either it was on accident or he’d actually caught on to Armin’s way of typing. Either way, it made Armin smile. Jesus, why was he affecting him this much?

 

He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts by a flick on his ear that stung something fierce. Crying out, he turned to see one of the friends of the boy that Eren had beaten up. Before Armin could say anything, (not that he would have anyway), the boy said “Oh look who it is. I see your football player friend is nowhere to be found this time. You’re going to pay for what he did to Jason. We’ll make sure of that. Friends stick out for each other.”

 

Before he could continue talking, he was interrupted by another voice. “You know, you really should check the seats before you start saying things that just aren’t true. Also, you’re right, friends do stick out for each other. So I suggest you leave him alone, or I’ll make what I did to…what was his name…Jason? Yeah, I’ll make what I did to Jason look like child’s play compared to what I’ll do to you.”

 

The boy turned around and paled. Eren sat directly two seats behind the boy, a humorous, yet dangerous, look on his face. He turned to Armin and, all steel out of his voice, said “Hey, Armin! Why don’t you come sit back here with me?” To which Armin, very gratefully, acquiesced.

 

“You know”, he said, once he’d sat down with Eren, “I feel really bad that you’re protecting me this much. I don’t want to get you hurt because of things that really only have to do with me.”

 

Eren laughed. “Like they’d dare to touch me. After what I did to that boy yesterday, which by the way I didn’t even get in trouble for, they won’t touch me. And I’m sure they’ll leave you alone after a while.

 

“I still feel bad.” Was all Armin could think to mutter.

 

“Well, don’t. I’ll make you a deal. If you teach me how to do the part of Hamlet perfectly, I’ll protect you. You won’t have to worry about them at all.”

 

Armin almost wanted to cry at the amount of affection he felt towards Eren at that moment. He kept calm though and just said “Thank you…”

 

Nodding, Eren suddenly yelped with excitement. “Wait! We’re on the same bus! So we must live really close to each other! Where do you live? I live on Maria street.”

 

“Really?” Armin said, “Me too! I live in the light blue house!”

 

“I’m literally…let me see…two…three…four…yeah four houses down from you. That’s so cool!”

 

Armin wondered to himself why he’d never seen the boy before. When he voiced his concern, Eren said “We just moved in two weeks ago. I missed most of the football season in the move, but that’s okay. I do football mostly for my dad, and to let some of my anger out. It’s one of the best things for anger management, though the doctor my dad forces on me would disagree.

 

So not only was this boy gorgeous, protective and interested in both theater and football, but he also lived about three seconds away from Armin. He smiled and, before he could stop himself, said “That’s fantastic, we can work on our lines together whenever we want!”

 

Eren’s face fell, slightly. “Yeah, there’s only one problem with that. My father doesn’t exactly know I’m in this play. He’s not…well he’s not exactly understanding about theater. He associates everything theater related with being gay, and he’s the world’s largest homophobe. I hate him for it.”

 

Armin sighed. He knew there had to be something. He didn’t let it show though, and said “That’s perfectly okay! You can come over to my house whenever you want. It’s really fine.”

 

Eren’s face brightened. “Sweet! See you tonight at midnight!” He said, jokingly. Armin pushed him, just as the bus was coming to a stop at the school. “Well”, he said, “I guess I’ll be seeing you on the bus ride home!”

 

“Yep!” Armin said, “See you later!” and with that, they parted for class, both with big smiles on their faces that neither of them saw.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support so far, this is so much easier to write than my Eremin one, which is all sad and sheeeeiit.


	4. Not your average day

First period, Pacific Northwest History, had always been boring to Armin. He’d already read the history book twice through, and the only reason he was in class was because of his perfect attendance score. Also he was Armin. The teacher, Mr. Pixis, was kind of dull. His tone of voice lacked any interest in the subject, and several times, Armin could have sworn he saw the man slip something into his coffee.

 

He was just starting to doze off when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Looking at it, he found himself smiling.

 

**E: I’m sooooooooo bored dude. Entertain me.**

 

He looked up to make sure the teacher wasn’t watching him. Pixis was talking about “Trees and things” as he put it, obviously not caring if anyone was listening or not. He returned his attention to his phone and quickly typed a reply.

 

**A: You need to pay attention so you can get good grades and then go to a good college and make tons of money!**

 

He put his phone back in his pocket, smiling to himself. He didn’t really care that Eren was texting in class, or for that matter, that he was bored. He was just giving him a hard time. The reply came quickly.

 

**E: Yes siiiiiiir.**

 

Sighing, Armin put his phone on silent and back into his pocket. This was very unlike him, texting in class. He probably should pay attention. He might miss something he’d only learned twice already, after all.

 

The bell finally, _finally_ rang, and Armin made his way to his second period. Oh god how he dreaded second period. The one class that Armin knew he’d never be able to excel in. Physical Education. Today was the weekly twenty minute run, and Armin had been dreading it since the second the run had ended the previous week. Plus, all of the assholes who picked on him just so happened to be in that class, and he knew they would be making his life a living hell very shortly.

 

He made his way to the lockers so he could change, and was just putting on his gym shorts when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. “Oh great. At least they let me put my shorts on this time.” He thought, flinching as he braced himself for the punch he knew would come. When none did, he turned to see a smiling Eren standing behind him. “Hey! I didn’t know you would be in my class!” He said, “Since I just moved here, dad wanted me to have a few days to settle down before I started school. Today is my first actual day of classes! Come to think of it, we should exchange schedules! Maybe we have more classes in common!”

 

Armin came out of his slight shock-induced coma, and said “Y-yeah. Do you have your schedule sheet?”

 

Eren rummaged through his messy backpack, cursing every few seconds, and after about a minute, gave a triumphant whoop as he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It read:

 

**1\. English III                                    L. Rivaille**

**2\. Physical Education                      K. Shadis**

**3\. Pre-Calculus                               E. Smith**

**Lunch 1**

**4\. Spanish I                                     P. Ral**

**5\. Photography                               M. Zacharius**

**6\. Honors Biology                           H. Zoe**

 

Armin quickly scanned through the list and looked up, grinning. “Hey! We actually have two more classes together. Pre-Calc and Biology! We also have the same lunch! I’m sorry about your English teacher, he’s kind of a dick.”

 

“Pfft. Kind of? He’s the Oscar-nominated douche bag of the century. I swear, he called me brat more times today…” Armin laughed at that, and said “Dude, why are you in Honors Biology? That class is for nerds like me, not jocks like you.” _Shit._ He hadn’t been thinking, and had just opened his mouth and now Eren would probably be mad.

 

Eren just laughed, before saying “Dad is huge in Biology. It’s crazy how someone can be so religious and so science-involved at the same time. He’s insane, but he wanted me to take all science related classes as honors. I think he wants me to go into the field someday, which I have absolutely no interest in.” Armin really wasn’t liking the sound of Eren’s dad, but he pushed it off. They chatted about small things for a few more minutes, until the late bell sounded and they made their way, along with the rest of the class, to the gym for their run.

 

It really wasn’t that bad today. The bullies kept giving him death glares, but Eren, who had decided to run with him the entire time, glared right back until they averted their eyes. Armin was out of breath quickly, but tried to keep a steady pace so as not to appear weak to Eren. Neither of them said anything the entire time, mostly because Armin wouldn’t have been able to if he tried. At the 20 minute mark, he was openly sweating. Looking over, he was startled to see that Eren was barely out of breath. He felt his face reddening.

 

They made their way back to the lockers, and Eren was the first to break the silence. “You did good today, Armin.” He said.

 

Armin scoffed. “Pfft, I was sweating buckets. Your heartbeat probably didn’t even increase.”

 

“Yeah,” Eren began, “But you tried way harder than I did today. You have to remember, I’m much more in shape than you, so that run was easy for me. But because you aren’t very fit, you had to try much harder to keep pace with me. You did a great job, even if you don’t think you did.”

 

Armin turned to argue with him, but stopped, open mouthed. Oh holy cow. Look at those abs. Eren was shirtless, and had the body of a stone sculpture, chiseled to perfection. That’s what Armin thought, anyway. His skin was a dark tanned white, with small freckles that could only be described as ‘cute’. His abs were a picture perfect six-pack, with very muscular pecks and a defined v going down to his shorts. He had no hair on his body, apart from the small happy trail that accompanied the perfect v.

 

He realized that he had been staring too long, without saying a single word, and quickly looked away, his face tomato-red. “I don’t know if I can agree with you on that, but thank you nonetheless.” He said, voice very small.

 

Eren just laughed, and patted him on the back. “Whatever you say. Come on, we should get going. We’ll be late to our next class if we don’t leave soon.” They closed their lockers and headed towards Pre-calc.

 

Now this was Armin’s favorite class of the day, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that their teacher was a sex god from the planet Sexy in the constellation of Sexdromida. Nothing at all. Armin paid attention every day in this class, no matter what. He always got an A, no matter how small the assignment, because Mr. Smith would always tell Armin how good he was doing, which made his stomach flutter and his heart skip a beat. Armin knew his little boy crush on Mr. Smith would never go anywhere, but he still made little squeaks whenever the teacher caught him off guard, like he did when they walked into class.

 

“Ahh, Armin. Good afternoon. I was going to ask the new student to sit next to you today, but I see you already met him.” He turned to Eren, “You must be Eren Yeager. My name is Mr. Smith, but most people call me Erwin. Armin here refuses.” Armin gave a little chirp and said “I-I just can’t call my teachers by their first names. It’s just weird to me, I guess.” Erwin gave a chuckle and they moved to their seats in the back of the room. Contrary to traditional seating, Armin being the genius he was, actually preferred the back. It allowed him to concentrate better, knowing there could be no one behind to watch or bully him.

 

Math class went by rather quickly for Armin’s liking, though Eren looked like he was about to fall asleep the entire time. Afterwards, Eren grinned and said “My favorite period of the day. Lunch. Where do you sit?”

 

Armin was caught off guard, as he didn’t really want Eren knowing he was such a recluse. “Oh, I…uhm…I kind of eat in the theater room. It’s usually got a few people in it, but I understand if you want to eat somewhere else.”

 

“No no no! The theater room is fine.” Eren said. They got their food, and went to the room. Surprisingly, Connie, Sasha, Marco and Jean all had the same lunch, and were eating in the room that day. Armin was both relieved that people were there, and sad at the same time. He was glad Eren could see the room with people during lunch on his first day, but he’d also been looking forward to some alone time with Eren, to get to know him better.

 

When Armin officially introduced Eren to everyone, Sasha, Connie, and Marco all welcomed him with open arms. Jean, on the other hand, was a little less friendly. “Yeager” was all he said, before sitting back down and eating his dinner. Eren looked like he was about to retort, but the group started talking about other things, and the anger was lost. Lunch went by rather quickly, and Eren departed, saying he wanted to be a little early to class.

 

The next few hours went by pretty quickly for Armin. More boring classes, and teachers that droned on about subjects Armin was fully educated on. Armin found himself thinking about Eren the whole time. How cool it was that they’d gotten so many classes together, and even the same lunch. How Eren looked when he was shirtless, with his perfect body and... _Stop it!_ Armin thought to himself. He needed to get a grip on his little crush. Eren would obviously never go for someone like Armin. He was probably straight, anyway.

 

Finally, the bell rang, and Armin headed to his final class, Honors Biology. He really enjoyed this class, and he was also glad that it was at the end of the day. It was a nice way to end the day’s classes, and the teacher was so interested in her subject that she was even able to teach Armin a thing or two that he hadn’t known previously.

 

He arrived a few minutes before the late bell, and looked around for Eren. He spotted him at an empty table in the back, waving at him. Armin made his way through the desks, and was about halfway there when a foot came out of nowhere, and next thing Armin knew, his face was on the ground. Dazed, he looked around to see a few kids snickering, but had no idea who had tripped him. Eren was at his side in seconds. “Who the fuck did that?” He said, looking around. “If I see anyone do it again, you’ll regret it.” He gave a death glare to a few people, for emphasis, then turned back to Armin, his facial expression softening. He held out his hand for Armin, who said “Thanks, but I can get up myself.” He got up, and walked to the desk, not wanting to look at Eren. God, he was so embarrassing. He couldn’t even stick up for himself in a classroom full of people. Why did Eren even want to be his friend?

 

Eren took his seat next to him. Armin didn’t look at him, but he saw out of the corner of his eye that Eren was giving him a concerned look. He was about to say something when Ms. Zoe came into the room. She had a huge smile on her face, and practically screamed “Hello class! It’s such a great day today! Let’s learn some science!” She had reddish hair that looked dyed, glasses that gleamed every time she looked around, and a facial expression akin to that of a crazed animal. But she was a pretty cool teacher, and Armin enjoyed her lectures.

 

An hour later, the bell sounded, and with it came the end of the day. Armin and Eren walked quietly to the bus. Armin was the first to break the silence. “I’m sorry I was so rude back there. I just-“ He was interrupted by Eren, who said “No, you shouldn’t be sorry. It’s the dicks who are such assholes to you that should be sorry. It’s not right that they pick on you like that. Anyway, you were upset, and it’s totally fine.” He flashed Armin a wide smile, which was infectious. Armin found himself smiling, and he said “Well, thank you for sticking up for me again.”

 

“Hey, remember our deal. You teach me how to be Mr. Actor Extraordinaire, and I’ll beat the shit out of anyone who comes within ten feet of you.” Eren said, jokingly. Armin smiled, his spirits lifted considerably, as he and Eren boarded the bus. “By the way,” Eren said, “when’s the first day of rehearsals?”

 

“Tomorrow!” Armin replied. “You can pick up your script in the morning, and rehearsal starts fifteen minutes after class ends. It usually goes about two hours. If you need a ride home, my mom can give you one, especially with how close we live to each other.”

 

“Sweet, thanks. We should walk sometime! It’s not that far.” Eren said.

 

“Yeah. I’d really like that.” Armin replied, a warm feeling settling in his stomach. They sat in a comfortable silence until their stop, and once the bus was out of sight, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. No matter how much he hated school because of the bullies, Armin knew one thing. He was very glad to have met Eren Yeager.


	5. The first rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin has his first day of rehearsals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Two updates in three days! Each over 2k words! It must be spring break or something!!!
> 
> For the record, "Blocking" is a theater term used to describe figuring out where, when, and how people will move in each scene.

Armin had trouble sleeping that night. He always did the day before rehearsals started. It wasn’t out of nervousness, well maybe a little, but was mostly out of excitement. He didn’t have much in life that made him really, truly happy, what with bullies and everything, but rehearsals were his domain. He was the theater department’s president, after all. He wasn’t an attention seeker, it was just that…people _actually listened to him,_ and it felt great.

 

Sure, in the past, Jean and the rest of the crew would do their best to stop the bullying. It was only Armin everyone liked picking on, because Armin was the only one who would sit there and take it. Jean was too big, and would always fight back. Thomas was on the track team, and quite built, so they left him alone, and Reiner…well he would probably kill whoever tried touching him. A few years back, he had caught the boys beating up Armin, and had hurt both of the bullies so bad, he’d been suspended for a week and kicked out of the school play. Now he just broke the fights up, and made sure Armin was okay.

 

Then there was Eren. Eren was the first friend who actually did something about it, and continued to do so. He was also smart, in the sense that he would only fight back enough to stop them from hurting Armin, but also just enough to stop himself from getting into trouble. That boy had walked into Armin’s life and turned it upside down. For the better, of course.

 

With that thought in his head, Armin dozed off into a peaceful sleep.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When his alarm went off the next morning, Armin had already been up an hour. He’d showered, done his homework, and was just starting to make breakfast, ham and eggs, when a knock came at the door. He heard his mom ask if he needed her to get it, and he responded with a “No mom, I’ve got it!” Puzzled, he went to the door, looked in the peephole, and smiled. He opened the door to a bundled up Eren. “Hello! What are you doing here so early?” Armin asked.

 

“Well, you did say I could come at _any time_ ” Eren replied, smiling. “I was wondering if you wanted to walk with me this morning.”

 

“Sure!” Armin said. “We’ve got some time before school starts though. Want to come inside and have some breakfast?”

 

“Oh no, that’s okay! I’d hate to impose.” Eren replied

 

“Impose? That’s a big word for you.” He said, jokingly giving Eren a shove. “Besides, I just started, and I love cooking for other people.”

 

“You sure?” Eren said

 

“Yeah! Come on in! You’ve already wasted almost a hundred dollars on our heating bill standing there anyway.” He said, smiling.

 

Eren made his way inside, and Armin closed the door. Armin made his way back to the kitchen, and began mixing his egg batter. He was making scrambled eggs, but he firmly believed that putting milk in with the egg made them fluffier and taste better. Eren walked in and asked “Can I help at all?” To which Armin shook his head, shooing him over to the stool. “I’ll be fine. You just sit there.” He didn’t add the “and look cute” that was in his head. Turning back to his work, he started cooking the ham.

 

Thirty minutes later, Eren sat with an empty plate, hands rubbing his stomach. “Oh my god Armin, if you ever fail at whatever you want to do in life, which you won’t, culinary school is definitely your best bet. I never knew ham and eggs could taste so good.”

 

“Oh shush. It was nothing.” Armin said, putting all of the dishes into the sink.

 

“No, really, that was amazing.” He replied, walking over to the sink and setting the dishes in the sink as well. As he did, his hand brushed against Armin’s, who stiffened. Eren must not have noticed, because he walked over to his backpack and said “Well, we should be getting to school. Do you have your stuff all ready?”

 

“Y-yeah” Armin replied. “Let me go up to my room and get it.” He could feel his face going red, so he hurried out of the room, and upstairs. Once he’d made it into his room, he shut the door and leaned against it. God, how could he be this childish? He shouldn’t get so worked up over a little hand touch. How was he going to act out the entire play of _Hamlet_ if he got all flustered every time they got close? “You need to get a grip.” He muttered to himself. Grabbing his backpack, he made his way back downstairs.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The walk to school was nice. He had Eren get the script before classes started, and then made his way to first period. There wasn’t really anything eventful with the day. His classes were boring as ever, even physical education, and Eren ate with him again at lunch. Jean and Marco were in the lunch room today, and Armin learned that Marco could be in the shittiest of situations, and still be happy and have an uplifting personality. Eren and Jean talked a little bit more, and it wasn’t so bad today. Maybe they would actually become friends…eventually.

 

A few hours later, Armin was sitting in Hanji’s class, watching the clock. She was going crazy over some frog chromosome statistics, and he wasn’t too interested in it. _Five more minutes. Four more minutes. Come on now, just three more minutes._ Eren glanced over and noticed him staring at the clock. “You’re sure excited to start rehearsals aren’t you?” He asked.

 

“Yes! It’s been so long, what with summer and everything, I’m just excited to get back into it.” Armin replied. He was too busy watching the clock to notice Eren smiling at him.

 

Finally, the bell rang, and Armin practically jumped out of his seat. He rushed out of the classroom, Eren following close behind, and made his way out of the room. “I like to be one of the first people there, being the president. It shows professionalism, that’s all.” He explained, rushing through the hallways. He made it to the drama room in two minutes, and walked inside.

 

“In your face, I beat you!” He heard Jean say.

 

“Dammit Jean, every time!” Turning to Eren, he said “Jean here has beaten me every single time we’ve had the first day of rehearsals. I swear, he leaves class early just so he can beat me.”

 

“So what if I do?” He said, “You’re too ‘good’ to leave class early, so I take advantage of that.” He made finger quotes when he said the word ‘good’.

 

“Yeah, well maybe one of these times I’ll actually leave early, just to shut you up.” He wouldn’t, of course. They continued talking for a while, until the rest of the people showed up. Once everyone had, Armin and Jean made their way up to the front, and he said “Alright everyone, welcome to drama! I’m Armin, the theater’s president, and this is Jean, the vice-president. We just wanted to congratulate you all on the parts, and wish you a warm welcome. Anyway, we thought we’d start the day off with a game before we actually started rehearsing, to loosen everyone up. It’s called ‘freeze’. Basically, two people start a random scene. Then, at any point, someone shouts ‘freeze’, and both people acting out the scene must freeze in their respective positions. Then, the person who said freeze must go up and tap out one person, taking that person’s previous position. They then start again, from the same positions, in a completely different scene. It is rather fun once you actually get into it. Jean and I will start.”

 

This continued for about fifteen minutes. Whenever Marco was up, Jean would always freeze out the other person. It was rather funny to watch, actually. Armin thought it was rather obvious Jean had a thing for him, but maybe that was just because he’d known since auditions. Finally, Armin and Connie were doing a scene where Armin was a pregnant woman, and was leaning on Connie, who was the doctor. Armin heard someone shout “Freeze!” and looked over to see Eren coming up. “Please tap me out, please tap me out.” he thought, but Eren came up and tapped Connie on the shoulder. Connie got up and Eren took his place, holding onto Armin.

 

A moment passed, as Eren collected his thoughts, and then said, “Please, please don’t die on me. You’re too good to die this young. Please…don’t leave me.” Armin was too shocked to speak for a moment, but then, before it became awkward, he coughed for emphasis, before saying “Heh, we had a good run, didn’t we? Tell my kids that I love them, and I’ll be watching over them.” Eren looked away in mock sadness, and Armin decided to take a chance. “Look at me, I want to see you one last time.” He said. Eren slowly turned to him, and looked him dead in the eyes. God, they were so…green? Blue? Armin couldn’t tell. But he did know one thing; they were beautiful. He stared for another five or so seconds, then, slowly, tilted his head toward the ground, and mock-died. No one said a word, no one made a sound. Then Connie started to clap, and after a few seconds, everyone else followed suit. Even Jean, though a few seconds late.

 

They both got up, jokingly bowed, and Armin said “Great job everyone. We should probably get started with rehearsals though. It’s always a good way to end Freeze, just letting it go. You can usually tell when there’s a scene that is a good end-point.” He made his way back to his seat quickly, and everyone got up to grab their scripts.

 

Rehearsal went really well. Armin decided that since it was just the first day, everyone could sit down and read through their lines. He usually did that on the first few days. Then, he would post up a call list for each day, by scene. During those times, he would be able to watch people more closely, give tips, and block scenes. This would continue for a few weeks, until he felt everyone had a firm idea of their pats. Finally, he would call everyone for the last few weeks, and run through the entire play once or twice each time. The night before the play, they would all do two runs that he called ‘Italian’ style, in which they would go through the play as fast, and clearly, as they could.

 

Throughout the rehearsal, Armin kept glancing over at Eren. Sure, they were best friends in the play, so he spent a lot of time staring at him anyway, but he really enjoyed watching Eren’s mannerisms. The way he moved when he was rehearsing, the way he shifted when he’d been in a spot too long, the intensity of his gaze when watching other people speak. Eren looked over and locked eyes with him, and smiled. Armin smiled back, before breaking the contact, embarrassed.

 

At the end of the day, Armin said “Great job everyone! You all did wonderfully. Over the next few days, I’ll be making a call sheet for individual scenes. You don’t have to attend on the days you aren’t called, but you’re more than welcome to. I think that wraps it up for today, though. Today’s Tuesday, and rehearsals will usually be after school Monday through Friday, with optional tech on Saturday, but because I need to make the call sheet, our next rehearsal will be Thursday. I’ll probably post the call sheet around Thursday morning. Have a great night everyone!” With that, everyone started grabbing all of their things and exited the room.

 

Eren made his way over, backpack slung over his shoulder, and said “Great job today! I had no idea you were such a good actor!”

 

Armin felt his face redden “Thanks. You did pretty great yourself. How long have you been acting for?”

 

Eren laughed, and said “This is the first time for me. Dad never allowed it.”

 

“Speaking of which, do you want my mom to give you a ride home? She should be here in about ten minutes or so.”

 

“If it isn’t too much trouble, that would be fantastic! I was just going to walk home. The last thing I’d do is call my dad to pick me up.”

 

Before Armin had time to think about it, he said “What about your mom?”

 

Eren’s face dropped, and he said, quietly, “She…um…I don’t really want to talk about it, if that’s okay. I’ll tell you some other time, though.”

 

Armin suddenly felt like he’d crossed some line, so he said “I’m sorry for asking, Eren.”

 

Eren tried to mask his sad expression with that of a happier one, and said “No, it’s totally fine. Don’t apologize, you didn’t know anything about it. Yeah, a ride would be awesome, thanks Armin.”

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

When Armin got the text that his mother was outside, they made their way to the car in a comfortable silence. When they got in the car, Armin introduced Eren to his mother and said “Mom, this is Eren. He lives really close, so I offered him a ride home. I hope that was okay!”

 

Armin’s mom gave a huge smile and said “Of course honey. It’s lovely to meet you Eren. My name is Sheila. Armin has told us a lot about you!” Her warm smile was quite infectious. She was blonde, just like Armin, with blue eyes and freckles on her face. In short, anyone on the planet could tell that they were related.

 

“Moooooooom” Armin said, dragging her name out. She just smiled and started the car. Once they arrived at Eren’s, he got out of the car, saying “Thanks for the ride Ms. Arlert! I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Armin!”

 

“Bye! See you tomorrow!” Armin replied. With that, Eren shut the door and made his way to the house. Armin’s mom said “He seems nice!” before starting the car and heading home. Armin was too busy watching the way Eren’s butt moved in his tight jeans as he walked away and muttered a “y-yeah” in a distracted tone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated! It keeps me writing! Thanks for reading, everyone :)


	6. Hail, my lord.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren, Armin, and Christa rehearse a scene alone after school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notice the rating change!

Two weeks had passed since rehearsals had started, and Armin was quite impressed. It seemed like everyone had fallen into their roles and found comfortable ways to portray them. Of course, as with any play, there were a few setbacks. A few people dropped and had to be replaced, but Armin could deal with them. While he and Jean liked to act and have fun with everyone else, they were still the leaders of the department, and treated it as such, when they needed to.

 

As for everything outside the drama room, well, that would take time to get better. Sure, the bullies had almost completely stopped beating him up, but Armin still felt like they were biding their time. He had a feeling that the moment Eren was gone sick or something similar, his face would become minced meat. Still, it was a wonderful improvement to the previous years. Armin found himself walking down the halls without having to hide, and he was actually able to join his friends at lunch without worry of food getting thrown at him. It really was a great feeling, having someone there for you at all times. Armin was certain he liked Eren now. Every single highlight of the last month of Armin’s life had involved Eren, and every time he spoke, Armin still got butterflies. “Damn my schoolgirl emotions to hell.” He frequently thought to himself.

 

Today was going to be a nervous and exciting day, though. Armin was quite anxious for the rehearsals. The call sheet for today was just Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus, or, Eren, Armin, and Christa. It was the scene where Marcellus, a sentry, and Horatio, Hamlet’s best friend, confront Hamlet about the appearance of his father’s ghost. That, of course, was why Armin was excited. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Eren and Armin would be two of the three people in the entire room for two hours. No…nothing at all.

 

Today was also an exciting day because it was a teacher work day, and a Friday, which meant no school for three whole days. They still had rehearsal, but Armin had made sure everyone he called would be available before posting the schedule.

 

He woke up a little before noon. “Good, a few hours left to go through my lines.” He thought to himself, before turning his alarm off and promptly falling back asleep.

 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------

 

_They looked at each other, sizing each other up, before closing the gap between them, their lips brushing ever so slightly. He moved in again, this time pushing their lips together for a real kiss. Armin made a slight noise in his mouth, which Eren didn’t miss. In the kiss, Armin felt Eren smiling._

 

_After a few minutes of this, Eren started kissing a little harder than usual. Armin returned the gesture, opening his mouth so that Eren could slip his tongue inside. He found himself taking off Eren’s shirt. Now he was removing his belt, feeling his body. His muscles were perfection. Armin broke off from the kiss, and started planting small kisses down Eren’s body, who in turn tilted his head back and let out a low moan. Armin made his way down to Eren’s pants and slowly, delicately, started taking them off. Eren’s arousal was evident. He started taking off Eren’s boxers, anticipation building for both of them, and –_

 

He woke with a start, sitting up. His hair was crazy everywhere, and he was in a cold sweat. He fell back into bed, planting his face in the pillow and sighing. “Dammit hormones, can’t you give me one friggen day of peace without trying to ruin my life?” he thought, angrily. He got out of bed, trying very hard not to pay attention to his now obvious erection. Taking one look at his alarm clock, he jumped, muttering “shit” and hurried to the shower.

 

Luckily enough, though he would argue it was skill, he made it to the drama room only twenty minutes late. Eren and Christa were outside, engaged in conversation. When they noticed Armin, their faces lit up, and Eren said “Hey, loser. I texted you like five times, where have you been? Wait until everyone hears that Armin Arlert was actually late to something, ooh this will be great.”

 

“Shut up. I slept in a little late, that’s all.” Pausing, he said “Wait, I didn’t get any text messages from you.” He felt inside his pockets. “Shit, that’s why. I forgot my phone. Oh well, this is only going to take two hours, I think I’ll live without it for that long.” Turning to the other, he said “Hi Historia!”

 

“Armin, it’s Christa, remember? Historia is my birth name, but I think Christa is more…me, you know?” She said, smiling. She was small, smaller than Armin, with long blonde hair and very blue eyes. Of everyone in the department, she had the warmest personality. It was almost impossible to get mad at her for anything.

 

“Oh right, sorry Christa! I completely forgot. Seems like I am doing that a lot today. Now, we should probably get inside before we all freeze to death.” He said, smiling. He walked over to the door and unlocked it, letting them inside. Students weren’t really allowed to have a set of keys to the theater room, but their drama department teacher had Armin them an extra copy, because he trusted him, and knew he’d never do anything with them that he shouldn’t.

 

The room was dark, so he did his best to maneuver through all of the props and find the light switch, which was very _inconveniently_ placed at the far end of the room. Even with his adept senses, he still slammed his foot into a bench, and yelled “Fuck!”

 

“Armin! Are you okay?” Eren asked, voice full of concern.

 

“Yeah, just stubbed my toe like an idiot, that’s all. Remind me to assign an entire tech day specifically for cleaning up this damn room. It’s become quite the mess.” He finally made it to the wall, felt around for the switch, and when he found it, turned the lights on. “There, that’s probably a little more suitable for reading off of a script and moving around.” He said, before grabbing his script out of his backpack.

 

The three of them spent an hour and a half rehearsing, blocking, and joking around. Normally, Armin wouldn’t join in with the shenanigans, but there were only three of them, after all, and one was Eren, so he felt more inclined to do so. They still got a great deal done, and Armin was just about to start them back on the scene again when Christa pulled out her phone and said “Oh no! I didn’t realize it was so late. I told my mom to pick me up at four today, and didn’t tell her it would be running a little later because you were late. I have to go, sorry guys!” She looked genuinely sad about having to leave.

 

“It’s perfectly fine, Christa. We got plenty done today, and I’m not too worried about this scene anyway. It’s mostly one sentence lines, and there aren’t any really big monologues. Have a great day!” Armin said. Christa packed everything up and left, leaving Eren and Armin alone in the room.  

 

Armin was about to call it a day when Eren said “So, we still have half an hour right? She only had like six lines anyway, so we can keep working if you want.”

 

Startled, Armin said “Y-Yeah, of course, if you want to. We can pick it up from the beginning if you want.” He made his way back behind the stage, where he would be entering from, and waited for Eren to take his spot. Once he had, he entered and began.

 

“Hail to your lordship!” he said, adopting a slightly lower voice for his role.

 

Eren walked over to him and they shook hands. Armin took note of how soft and warm his hand was, before Eren said “I am glad to see you well, Horatio- or I do forget myself.”

 

Armin took a step back and continued, “The same, my lord, and your poor servant ever.” He bowed, tilting his upper body as low as he could, flourishing his arms out.

 

Eren adopted a troubled look, and said “Sir, my good friend, I’ll change that name with you. And what make you from Wittenberg, Horatio? Marcellus?”

 

“My good lord,” Armin said, adopting a squeaky high pitched voice to impersonate Christa’s role. Eren looked at him for a split second before he burst out laughing. He laughed and laughed. Armin absolutely loved the sound. If nothing else, hearing that laugh at every day would make each day a good one.

 

Wiping tears from his eyes, Eren said “Armin, I didn’t even know your voice could go that high. That was freaking hilarious. You should talk like that more often.”

 

“Oh shush.” He replied, giving Eren a soft punch in the arm.

 

They continued their lines, Armin now filling in Christa’s role with a much deeper voice, and when they were done with the scene, he said “Eren, I’m really proud of how good you’re doing for having no previous acting experience. Are you going to join the theater department? We could really use someone like you for future plays.”

 

“I’m not sure. I want to, but I need to figure out how to break it to my dad without him breaking me.” Eren said, half smiling.

 

“Well, either way, great job today. If everyone put as much effort into their part as you did, this show would be fantastic.” Armin said.

 

“Oh stop it. You’re the one with all the skill. I’m just copying you.” He said, walking over and giving Armin a smack on the butt. Armin jumped, making a ‘meep’ sound, his face going blood-red. It was a good thing Eren was oblivious, as he was packing up his bag.

 

“Are you getting a ride today?” Armin asked.

 

“Nope, you?” Eren replied.

 

“I would, but I forgot my phone. I’m probably going to walk home. It’s Friday, so I don’t really have any homework, and I haven’t walked home in a while, so I figured it would do me some good anyway.”

 

“Mind if I join you?” Eren asked.

 

“Of course you can! Walks always go faster with company, and as it’s Antarctica-cold out there, I could really use a distraction.” Armin said.

 

Armin watched as Eren finished up packing, trying hard not to notice his butt in the skinny jeans he was wearing. When he was done, he had Eren leave the room so he could turn off the lights. Once he had, he walked outside and locked the door.

 

The distance between his home and school wasn’t that far, only about a twenty minute walk. They walked in a comfortable silence for most of it. Armin was the first to break the silence. “So, where are you from? A few weeks ago you said you hadn’t been here very long.”

 

“Well, we’ve lived in a few places, as my dad used to travel a lot. Up until recently, we actually lived in Japan, in a city called Shiganshina. I know it’s a bit of a mouthful. We only lived there for a few months, which is good because I don’t speak Japanese, and they don’t play much football. I’ve gotta say though, this is by far my favorite place we’ve lived. Thanks to you, of course.” Eren added.

 

Armin blushed. “Really?” He asked.

 

“Of course. Ever since I moved here, you are one of the only people who’s made an effort to talk to me and be my friend. You’ve shown me around, and found me a group of friends to hang out with. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I usually have a hard time making friends. Most people piss me off too easily. Jean, for example. I don’t know what his problem is with me, but if he wants to keep his horse-face intact, he should learn to be a little nicer to me.” Eren said.

 

“Don’t hurt him, please. Partly because he’s a nice person, but mostly because finding a new vice president would be a pain in the butt.” Armin said, smiling. Eren laughed. They arrived home a minute later, and parted ways.

 

Armin watched Eren enter his house, before making his way home, “ _Thanks to you, of course”_ in the front of Armin’s mind, and the reason for the gigantic smile he wore.

 

He arrived home shortly after, and making his way over to his phone, found a few text messages from Eren, one of which was only three minutes old. It read:

 

**E: Hey, thanks for an awesome day, dude. Dad’s out of town for the weekend, and I was just wondering if you wanted to spend the night.**

 

Armin felt a pang of excitement. He’d hung out with Eren in school and during rehearsals, but never outside of school before. He hurriedly sent a text message back.

 

**A: Yeah!**

 

Eren was quick to reply

 

**E: Awesome! Feel free to come over around seven, if you want.**

 

This was definitely going to be a good weekend.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10k words! This might not seem like a lot to some, but I'm proud of it! I promise Eremin will start soon, worry not! 
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos, comments, and support. :3


	7. The Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mmm things are finally starting to happen :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to update. I will update more frequently now <3

Toothpaste…check. Toothbrush…check. Pants…Check. Shirt…Check. Courage and a lack of fear for what was going to happen that night…not so much.

 

As Armin went through the mental checklist of things he would be bringing to the sleepover (while some people brought nothing, Armin would always be prepared, thank you very much), he tried to calm down the torrent of emotions that were surging through him. _Eren asked me to have a sleepover. It’s nothing. Absolutely nothing, right? Nothing is going to happen. It’s just two friends. Two completely platonic friends having a completely platonic sleepover where absolutely nothing is going to happen._

 

He checked the time. 4:30 in the afternoon. _Good. Plenty of time to calm down and prepare myself for tonight._

 

Armin had been to a few sleepovers in the past. Jean had them occasionally, as did some of the other drama members, but Armin never really felt comfortable at other people’s houses. While he was an extreme extrovert when it came to acting and stagework, in actuality he was the world’s biggest introvert. He loved being alone with his books. Books couldn’t hurt him like people could.

 

But Eren was different. Eren made him feel comfortable in ways no other friend, or _human alive_ for that matter, ever could. Around Eren, he could be himself, which usually only happened in the comfort of his own home. Sure, he’d never had a problem with being alone, but having a true friend that was there for him and cared about him was something else altogether.

 

And that’s what made the situation oh so much worse. Day after day, Armin found himself falling harder and harder for the dark haired, green eyed boy. There was nothing he could do! His feelings just kept getting stronger, and he’d given up on trying to suppress them, save for when Eren was around. Jean kept telling him how “bad” he had it. Armin would always retort with a “Yeah? How’s the relationship with Marco going? Oh, nonexistent? How surprising”, which would usually shut Jean up.

 

In short, the entire thing sucked. He was falling hard for his friend, who had no interest in him. He was doing everything he could to hide his emotions, because he didn’t want to ruin their friendship over it. Each day, however, that became harder and harder.

 

Armin made his way down to the kitchen and starting making a tuna sandwich. Cooking was one of his favorite ways to pass the time, but he just wanted something simple and easy at the moment. Something that wouldn’t excite his nerves too much. He made his way over to the living room, sat down on the couch, and started eating. _Jesus this couch is comfortable._

 

\---------------------------------------------------------- _-_ \------

 

Armin was confused. He couldn’t hear, think, or feel any other emotion. What the hell was going on?

 

Dazed, he shook his head and sat up. He was in his living room, a half-eaten sandwich spilled on the floor. He started cleaning it up when he noticed how dark it was outside. _Shit!_ Rushing upstairs, and leaving the forsaken sandwich, he checked the time. _Double shit shit shit!_ It was almost 8:00! Checking his messages, he found several from Eren.

 

**(6:45) E: See you in 15 minutes then?**

 

**(6:55) E: Armin? I said 7, you know that right?**

 

**(7:05) E: Did you forget or something? :\**

 

**(7:50) E: Well, I guess something happened. Text me when you can so I know you’re okay.**

 

Sighing, Armin opened up the dial pad and called Eren. He picked up almost right away.

 

“Hello?” Came Eren’s voice.

 

“Hey! I’m so sorry, Eren. I fell asleep hours ago and didn’t have an alarm or anything. I’m lucky I even woke up now. My naps have turned into all night sleepers more than once.” He replied.

 

“Oh, that’s okay! Do you still want to spend the night?” This time, Eren’s voice was hesitant, almost like he didn’t want to hear a “no”. Armin of course missed this.

 

“Of course! If you’ll still have me over, that is. I feel really bad that I missed our original time.”

 

“It’s perfectly fine, Armin. How soon can you come over?”

 

“I can be there in 20 minutes. I want to shower so my hair doesn’t look so bad. See you in a bit!”

 

“Alright. See you then! Like your hair could ever look that bad” Eren finished. Armin hung up a little too quickly, and didn’t register what Eren had said until after he had. _Wait…what?_ Armin was very, very puzzled at Eren’s last words. Those were friendship words, sure, but the way Eren had said them had almost implied… _more._ _No. No no no no. Definitely not. You’re overthinking things, Armin,_ he thought to himself, as he got in the shower.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Twenty minutes later, he was outside Eren’s door. After a few seconds of breathing slowly, he knocked. There was a bustle from inside, then Eren’s face popped through the opened door. He was grinning from ear to ear. “Hey, Armin!” He said. “Come on in. My entire family is gone for the weekend, so that’s pretty cool.”

 

Armin stepped inside, taking in the house. Eren’s family had a very typical sense of style. Crimson walls, family photos, paintings, the whole thing. Something out of the ordinary caught Armin’s attention. In the far corner, there were many photos, all perfectly spaced, each with the same frame. The first showed a little baby Eren, the last was almost current. “Oh no, you’ve found my family’s shrine of me. A photo for each year I’ve been alive.”

 

Armin browsed each one before stopping and laughing. “Oh my god Eren, you were such a fat little kid!” He said, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m definitely taking a photo of this.” He said, pulling out his phone. Right after he’d taken a photo, he heard Eren say “Oh no. No, no no no.” Before snatching the phone from Armin’s hands. Eren proceeded to delete the photo. Armin, being the intellectual genius he was, had secretly taken seven or eight photos, but didn’t let Eren in on that little secret. “Oh no! Whatever will I do now? You have defeated me.” Armin said sarcastically, miming a faint.

 

Eren gave him a death glare, before smiling and ruffling Armin’s hair. The sudden contact almost made Armin meep, but his self-control over Eren’s touch had grown. As a result, he merely blended into the walls with his facial color.

 

Around 9:00, they both were quite hungry, and upon finding absolutely nothing edible in the kitchen (Eren’s family were vegans, Eren and Armin were not), they decided to order Pizza. Afterwards, they were both sitting on the couch, watching tv and nurturing their food babies. To their delight, they found out they had a shared interest in _Big Brother_ , which was now playing on the screen.

 

Throughout the show, Armin kept noticing that Eren would look his way. Probably to see if he was falling asleep or something. When the night camera came on, and showed two people cuddling and talking about the day, Eren said “Man, that’s what I miss most about relationships. Sex is whatever. Dates are whatever. But cuddling? Cuddling is fantastic. It’s just so… _intimate._ ”

 

Armin, who had never had a date in his life, absentmindedly said “Never done it.” The Power Of Veto competition was going down, and Armin was hooked.

 

Eren turned and looked at Armin, a look of sheer incredulity on his face. “You’ve never…you…how have you...” He paused, and collected himself, before saying “I’m going to change that right now.”

 

Armin had just enough time to turn and actually take note of the situation when arms enveloped him. He froze. Eren was holding him. _Eren was holding him. Holy shit. Holy shit shit shit._

 

“Okay, so this is pretty much just hugging, what we’re doing now.” Eren said, voice muffled, his breath hot on Armin’s neck. “We can stop here if you want, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but cuddling is much more than this.”

 

Armin couldn’t say anything. His voice wouldn’t work. If it had, he would have said something like “If you stop, I will leave right now, now cuddle me to death you attractive son of a bitch.” But instead, all he could do was nod.

 

Eren then turned them both so they were laying on the couch, side by side. He proceeded to wrap his arms around Armin again, but this time, he also opened Armin’s legs, and stuck one of his in-between, so they were interlocked. Armin was very much fully erect now, so it was a good thing that there was some space between their crotches. Eren had his head buried into Armin’s neck, and Armin could smell him. It was intoxicatingly good.

 

“Is this…is this okay?” Eren asked, apprehensively. His hand was on Armin’s back, fingers slowly stroking up and down.

 

Finally finding his voice, Armin breathed out a “Yeah.” He felt Eren tighten his hold on Armin. Along with his voice, Armin had finally gained back his thought process. Eren was holding him. This was intimate. But it was only because Eren was showing him how to do it, and what he’d been missing. _Oh god, what have I been missing?_ He wasn’t just referring to the cuddling.

 

Armin expected Eren to let go after a few minutes at most, but after ten, twenty, thirty minutes had gone by and they hadn’t broken contact, Armin started wondering how much longer they’d be doing this. He wanted to keep doing it, and was worried that Eren would break it off at any second.

 

After an hour of comfortable silence, with occasional remarks of “Are you comfortable?” from both of them, Armin found his leg falling asleep. He shifted his leg, and felt Eren flinch before freezing. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Was all he said. What was he talking about?

 

“Why are you apologizing?” Armin asked.

 

Eren hesitated, before saying “Didn’t you…didn’t you feel my semi?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooh.


	8. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BUT, if you read in the next thirty minutes, I'll throw in a second, third, and fourth dosage of fluff absolutely free. That's four doses of fluff for the low, low word count of 1,879!

Armin’s world went blank. Seven billion people ceased to exist. The plants, the animals, the trees, everything, all just ended. There was nothing left. Nothing but a blank slate.

 

“Armin?” Someone off in the distance asked. Who was that?

 

As suddenly as the world had faded away, it popped back into existence. Armin let out a very shaky breath, and took a second to collect himself. He was still cuddling with Eren. Almost no time had passed since he’d said those words. What words were they again? Why did Armin feel all…flustered?

 

“Wh-what did you s-say? Armin shakily asked.

 

“You didn’t hear me? Oh nothing, it really wasn’t important. Forget I said anything. We should go play some games or something, do you want to do that?” Eren was speaking very fast, starting to pull away from the embrace. “W-we should go play some Mario Kart or Smash Brothers Brawl. I’ll dominate you. Then, we ca-“

 

“Eren, did you said you had…a semi?” Armin asked, realization hitting him. While only a few seconds had actually passed, it had felt like ages. Eren Jeager was cuddling him. Him. Armin Arlert. They were cuddling, and Eren had said that he, Eren Jeager, had a semi. While cuddling him. Armin Arlert. This wasn’t reality. It couldn’t be. Was he still at home before the sleepover, dreaming? No. That wasn’t it. It couldn’t be. He really _hoped_ it wasn’t.

 

When Armin had asked about Eren’s little self, well maybe not _little_ , popping up to say hello, Eren froze. He was just about to break the embrace between them, so it gave Armin just enough room to pull his head back and take a good look at Eren. His face was scarlet, his intense green eyes full of fear. He slowly looked at Armin, switching his gaze from one of Armin’s eyes to the other, and sputtered “I…I just…We…” after that, he fell silent, giving Armin a sort of calculating look. Then, in a rush, he began again, more collected this time. “Okay, so ever since auditions, when I first came on the stage, I have had a crush on you. It started out small, sure, because I had no idea who you were back then, but it’s gotten huge over the last few weeks. I’ve done absolutely everything I can to hide it, and get rid of it, but nothing has worked.”

 

He paused for a moment, and averted his gaze. After a few seconds, he looked up. There were tears forming in his eyes. In a voice barely above a whisper, he said “I’m sorry if that bothers you. Please still be my friend, Armin. I really, really don’t want to lose you.” He sniffled, and a tear streaked down his cheek.

 

The entire time he was talking, Armin was trying very hard not to die. This was all too much. _Eren Jeager has a crush on me. Eren Jeager likes me. I’m still Armin, right? I didn’t switch bodies with someone or something? Someone find me a mirror, stat. Oh god, I’m not Armin anymore!_

 

The moment he heard Eren whisper those last words, and saw the tear streak down his face, however, he snapped back. The moment Eren started to pull away and mutter an apology, Armin grabbed him, and pulled him flush against his body. This time he felt… _it._ He was too worried about his friend to care, however. As they were cuddling, he had to speak into Eren’s neck. “Eren. Let’s pretend for just a moment, just a _tiny_ moment, that I don’t have feelings for you. Now, throw away all of that feeling crap I definitely have for just a second, and even if I felt absolutely nothing for you, I couldn’t ever stop being your friend for something silly like that. Now shut up. Okay, that moment has passed. Now we’re back to reality. The one where I have fallen head over heels for you, and you being the oblivious motherfucker you are, had absolutely no idea.”

 

 _Where the hell did that come from?_ Armin thought. Everything he had just said really didn’t sound like him.

 

They were silent for a few moments, while Armin waited for Eren’s response. Finally, He felt Eren’s entire body grip him tighter, and he pressed his face into Armin’s neck. He could feel Eren smiling. “Yeah, but I’m not the only oblivious one. You didn’t know either, stooped az.”

 

Armin giggled. In all the scenarios where Eren found out Armin liked him, not one involved Eren liking him back, let alone coming out to him first. It was like he was in a dream. For the first time in what felt like months, he felt good. More than that, the feeling of depression and that terrible feeling in his stomach was gone. Now, he felt nothing but…good.

 

After a time, Armin said, laughing “Man, who would have thought that all it took was a boner.”

 

“Hey hey hey! I said I had a _semi!”_

 

“Mhm. The first in command was standing at full attention for his captain. Don’t lie to me.”

 

“Shut up.” Eren said, fondly.

 

“You’re still hard, aren’t you?” Armin asked, half joking, half curious.

 

“Shut up.” Eren said again, snuggling against him. Armin, of course, had been hard since the second they had started cuddling. He didn’t let Eren in on that little secret, however.

 

They sat in a warm, comfortable silence for a while. Occasionally, Eren would slide his hand up and down Armin’s back, using his thumb to affectionately rub up and down. It felt very, very nice.

 

A thought struck him. One that had been secretly bothering him the entire time they’d been talking, that he hadn’t thought to voice until now. “Eren, what do you see in me? I have no special qualities. I am about as less-than-average as they come. What exactly do you even like about me?”

 

Eren pulled his upper body away, so that he was staring directly at him. “You’re kidding me, right? Which part about you is less than average? Your amazing hair, your deep blue eyes? How about the fact that every time you walk into a room, it seems to get brighter? Or maybe it’s the way you use inflection in your voice that just flips my stomach upside down. No, wait…it must be the fact that you’re an amazing actor. That must be it. Or could it be one of the many other qualities you have that are so…great? I know you get beaten up. I know people pick on you. But those people…they don’t know anything. They’ll never _do_ anything with their lives. You will. You are, and will always be, so much more than average.”

 

_What was life again? What were people, things, and nouns? Words. English. Difficult._

 

They just stared at each other, Eren stroking the back of Armin’s hair very slowly, until Armin found his voice. “You…you really believe that?”

 

“Every word.” Eren said, with absolute certainty.

 

“And it doesn’t…bother you…that I’m so weak? That you’re always having to defend me, because I can’t?” Armin asked.

 

“Bother me? The fact that I can actually do something to help protect you means the world to me. It makes me feel like I have a way to be there for you, and I _will_ always be there for you, Armin. No one will hurt you on my watch, and that makes me happier than you will possibly know.”

 

Armin didn’t know how to respond to this. Not that he didn’t want to, he really did, but he just couldn’t put into words what he was feeling. So, he asked the only thing he could. “Eren, can I kiss you, please?”

 

Eren smiled. “That’s a weird way to go in for a kiss. I’ve never heard of anyone actually asking before they do it.”

 

“Well, the thing is…I’ve never really kissed anyone before, and I didn’t want to just go in for it and be really bad, and have you be this awesome kisser that kisses me into oblivion.” Armin said.

 

After a moment, Eren said “You know, I’ve never kissed anyone either. Hell, I’ve never made it past the cuddling stages with anyone.”

 

“Wait, you…never…with anyone? No girls? How could you keep them off you? You’re like…just…how?” Armin asked, unable to formulate coherent sentences.

 

“To be honest, I’ve just never been a sexual person. I love me my cuddlin, sure, but when it comes to actually wanting to be with people, girls or guys, there’s never really been anyone I’ve been interested in, until you came along.”

 

That did it. Armin’s heart fucking melted, and he slowly leaned in, closing his eyes. He had a general concept of how to kiss, and he hoped that would be enough. _Okay, Eren is obviously the dominant of the two of us, so let him establish that and instantly go for his bottom lip._

 

They leaned in further and further, until they were a hair’s width apart, and stopped. At the same time, they both opened their eyes, and stared at each other. Eren started smiling, and Armin slowly did the same. Finally, Eren closed the gap, and their lips touched. It was everything Armin had dreamed it would be, but more. He slightly opened his mouth on Eren’s bottom lip, and closed it, in a wavelike motion. The kiss was sloppy, as both of them were very unexperienced, but they quickly learned how each other moved, and adjusted themselves. Eren was caressing the back of Armin’s head, and Armin’s hand was pushing their bodies together. To sum it up, the kiss was pure bliss.

 

Eren slightly bit down on Armin’s lip, which sent a jolt through Armin’s body, essentially causing him to grind up against Eren. Eren let out a moan through the kiss, and started dry humping Armin back. _Oh my freaking god this is amazing,_ Armin thought, letting out a moan himself.

 

They both found a rhythm of grinding. Armin adjusted himself so that he was underneath Eren, and Eren would slowly kiss him and grind his hips against Armin’s even slower. Armin let out frequent whimpers that were compiled with small cries of “Eren”, which would cause Eren to grind even harder, and kiss with more intensity.

 

Their kissing became more and more heated, their movements filled with a hungry need. Faster and faster they grinded against each other. Armin was in heaven. He could feel his climax slowly building up, and didn’t care. He packed plenty of extra clothes, which would finally be coming in handy.  Suddenly, Eren stopped. They were both breathing very, very hard. Armin opened his eyes and asked “Why did you stop?”

 

“I was pretty close there.” Eren admitted. “Really, really close.” He collapsed on top of Armin. They repositioned themselves until they were cuddling again.

 

“Man” Armin began, “That was really…really…”

 

“Amazing.” Eren finished.

 

“Yeah” Armin breathed.

 

In the end, they both fell asleep cuddling each other. At some point, Armin’s hand made its way down and intertwined his fingers into Eren’s. The last thing Armin remembered thinking was _“You know, at auditions, I thought this wouldn’t be such a bad year after all. I was wrong. This is going to be the best year ever.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated, everyone. It really does make my day, and help me write each chapter <3


	9. Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI ALL! Thank you so much for reading, everyone. I love you all so much <3
> 
> You should all follow my tumblr! I promise to follow back! www.shawnhodson.tumblr.com
> 
> As always, kudos, bookmarks, and comments are REALLY REALLY REALLY appreciated. They keep me motivated to continue this series, (though I probably would anyway, I mean have you seen how cute Armin is?)
> 
> OMG I HIT 15K WORDS THAT'S SUCH A BIG DEAL FOR ME!!!!

Armin snuggled into his pillow, burying his face into it. His smile hadn’t gone away in hours. He felt giddy, happy, butterflies in his stomach that just wouldn’t go away. Not that he wanted them to, of course. Even thinking about the memory made his heart flutter.

 

 

_The sleepover was over. Armin felt a little sad that it was already done, but very, very happy at everything that had transpired. He just couldn’t believe that Eren liked him. Eren. Liked him. Armin. Him._

 

_It was mid-afternoon, the morning after the sleepover. Armin was packing his things, and was just pulling out his toothbrush when Eren entered the room. Armin wasn’t facing him, but they were the only ones in the house. He smiled, as hands engulfed him in a massive hug. Eren buried his face into Armin’s neck and said in a muffled tone that came out as a whisper, “Hey.”_

 

_Armin turned and embraced him. Only when he pulled out of the embrace did he notice that Eren looked very odd. The best word to describe his composure would be…nervous…but why…?_

 

_Suddenly, in a rush of words, Eren said, “Armin, I know we just said we liked each other yesterday, but I’ve been wanting to ask this for a while, so I’ve been trying to justify it for the last few hours, and I’ve finally convinced myself to do it.” He tackled Armin to the ground in a massive cuddle-fest, positioned his mouth less than an inch from Armin’s ear, and whispered, “Armin Arlert, would you be so kind as to do me the honor of becoming my boyfriend?”_

 

_Armin. Fucking. Melted. Of course, he already knew what he was going to say. He’d have asked Eren himself if he had the courage, but he paused. He let out an “Uhm…” and then went quiet. He allowed just enough time to pass to let Eren start feeling a little uncomfortable, before he pulled back, looked Eren directly in the eyes, and said “Yes, of course you big dummy.” Before bending down and giving him a very slow kiss. He felt Eren relax, which, for some reason, gave him the best feeling in the world._

 

 

Still smiling, Armin fell asleep. He wasn’t thinking about school the next morning, or the bullies that would surely attempt to hurt him. He wasn’t even thinking about the stress of the play that would soon be looming over his head. No, for the first time in his life, there were nothing but good thoughts dancing in his head.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------

 

His dreams ended far too soon. The following morning, he was blasted awake by his alarm. _Ten more minutes._

 

Three or four snoozes later, Armin jumped out of bed and ran as fast as he could to the shower. After a three minute power-shower, he got out and prepared for school. Right before he set out, his phone buzzed. Flipping it open, he found himself unable to stop the smile that formed on his lips.

 

 **E:** **Hey, I won’t be able to take the bus today. I’m actually going to miss my classes as well. I’ll be there for rehearsal, don’t you worry. Talk to you later. <3**

 

Armin felt his heart sink a little at the fact that he wouldn’t be seeing Eren until rehearsal, but the little heart at the end of the message brought his spirits right back up. Still though, why was Eren missing school? He quickly texted back.

 

**A: Feeling sick or something? I don’t want you coming to rehearsal if you’re going to be hacking up your lungs everywhere. So help me god, if you get me sick, I will end you.**

 

He put his phone down, and started gathering his school supplies. He couldn’t’ help but reflect on how good Eren had gotten at texting. _It probably has nothing to do with me, of course._ He thought, but instantly knew that was a lie.

 

His quick showering ability saved him just enough time to not have to rush. Once he was all packed, he looked at his phone. He had a habit for not just checking for a message, but waiting to see the little green light flash on his phone. He knew it was silly, but it built up anticipation in his stomach, and though he couldn’t explain it, he loved the feeling.

 

Seeing the little green light flashing every few seconds again brought a smile to his face. _Sheesh, I’ve been smiling far too much lately. I’m going to live forever at this rate._ He picked up the phone and opened the message.

 

**E: Nah, I’m not sick. I am actually feeling pretty great, thanks to a certain someone, I wonder who that is. No, I have a few personal family things I have to deal with today, but I’ll see you later, okay? :)**

 

Armin sent back a “Okay :)” and set off for school, feeling pretty great about life.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

School was grade-A boring without Eren there to entertain him. He made it all day without the bullies even touching him. This was very interesting, because even when they saw him at lunch time, they just gave him dirty looks, but didn’t even say anything, let alone attempt to hurt him. _Maybe they’ve finally grown up and moved on with their sad lives_ , Armin thought.

 

At the end of the day, Armin made his way to the theater building, arriving just one minute after the end of the day bell sounded. He was alone in the room. _Hah! Beat Jean!_ He thought to himself.

 

“Not quite.” Said Jean, emerging from behind a curtain holding a few props they would shortly be using. He had a smug grin on his face. A stupid, horse face’d grin. _Dammit Eren, I’m picking up bad habits from you._

 

“Not fair! I didn’t even say anything!” Armin said.

 

“You were thinking it. You always are. I beat you today, and I’ll beat you every time in the future, broski.” Jean replied.

 

 _If I ever needed motivation to work out, all I’d need to think about is being strong enough to punch Jean in the face, and I’d be motivated to work for hours at a time._ Armin thought, only half-jokingly.

 

People filed in a few at a time. Every time the door opened, Armin would look up eagerly, only to be disappointed. Eren still hadn’t shown up. After a few times of this, Jean said “Calm down, Romeo. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

 

“Shut up.” Was all Armin said. He pulled out his phone and started texting Eren. The reply came shortly after.

 

**A: Where are you? Rehearsal is in 5 minutes!**

 

**E: I know, I’m pulling into the school now. I’ll be there in just a moment.**

 

Armin didn’t think twice about it. He ran out the door, towards the front of the school. When he got there, he found Eren getting out of a car, which then drove off. Eren made his way over to Armin. Armin went to give him a hug, but Eren said “Not now. Wait until the car is out of sight.”

 

He looked over at Eren. He looked very disgruntled, almost…defeated. “Eren,” Armin began, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

 

Eren, who must have noticed he was acting strangely, threw on a smile and said “What? Nothing! Come here, my boyf” before scooping Armin up in a hug and squeezing him tight. Armin hugged back, but pulled away.

 

“Eren.” He said, “Please tell me what’s happened.”

 

Eren’s face cringed. He stuttered a little bit, but finally said “I’ll tell you after, okay? Let’s just have a good rehearsal. I don’t want to upset you right now. I promise I’ll tell you afterwards, alright?”

 

“I guess…” Armin said.

 

Eren, attempting to fill the awkward silence that followed, said, “Did anyone threaten you, or beat you up today?”

 

“No, actually!” Armin replied, “They didn’t even so much as talk to me! It was odd. Maybe they’ve finally grown up a bit.”

 

“Yeah” Eren began, “Or maybe they were told that they would get demolished by my pinky finger if they so much as looked at you.” Eren said.

 

“You didn’t…” Armin began, though he felt a rush of gratitude for his larger boyfriend.

 

Eren just shrugged. Looking over, Armin noticed that he still looked pretty down. Armin pulled him close, and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but I know one thing that will make you feel better.”

 

Eren looked over and smiled, sincere this time. “Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah!” Armin said, before jumping on him, and initiating a kiss. Eren, to Armin’s surprise, grabbed Armin and lifted him off the ground, holding him in a tight embrace as they kissed.

 

“Hey, loverboys!” A voice off in the distance said. “Rehearsal started ten minutes ago. Get your asses in here!”

 

They broke the kiss. Armin looked over to see Jean yelling at them. Eren gave Jean a murderous expression. “I’ll kill him one day.” He said.

 

“Calm down, Eren. We’ll have plenty of time for kisses later. You can’t kill Jean, because then I couldn’t cuddle you with the prison bars between us.” He said, smiling.

 

“Yeah, well he’s just lucky you’re cute.” Eren replied. Armin blushed, and looped his hand around until he found Eren’s. He intertwined their fingers, and said “We should be getting back.”

 

Eren looked down at their hands, and smiled. “Damn, I’m lucky to have you.”

 

Armin didn’t say anything, but he felt exactly the same.  


	10. Second Thoughts?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is feeling sad, and Armin hopes it isn't what he thinks it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TEN CHAPTERS AWW YEAH.

“Of that I shall have also cause to speak. And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more; But let this same be presently performed, even while men’s minds are wild; lest more mischance on plots and errors, happen.” Armin said, boldly.

 

“Let four captains bear hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage: For he was likely, had he been put on, to have proved most royally: and, for his passage, the soldier’s music and the rites of war speak loudly for him. Take up the bodies: Such a sight as this becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. Go, bid the soldiers shoot.” Franz finished.

 

After a moment, everyone clapped, cheered, and yelled. It was the first time they’d done a rehearsal with the entire play fully blocked, which meant that everyone knew where they were supposed to be for each scene. For how much time still remained until opening night, Armin was very proud of his crew.

 

“Alright everyone” Armin shouted, bringing the attention back to himself, “You all did a wonderful job today. I’m so happy with the progress we’re making. I know I’m asking a lot, but if we could all be off book in two weeks, that would be simply amazing. As for today, I think this is a great stopping point. I’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon, same time, same place!” He finished.

 

Everyone started packing up their things, talking to one and other, each with a smile on their faces. Armin just beamed at everyone. He scanned the room, and found the only person without a smile on their face. Eren was packing up his things, his face turned slightly away from him, but he could tell Eren wasn’t smiling. _Oh god, please say he isn’t having second thoughts. He was really sad today, I could tell, even though he tried to hide it._

 

He made his way over to Eren, a sense of dread creeping over him, and said “Hey.”

 

Eren jumped slightly, and turned, adopting a happier expression. “Oh, hey! Great job today! So, are you getting a ride, or do you want to walk home today?” He asked.

 

“Eren”, Armin began, pausing for a moment, “You said we’d talk. So let’s talk.” By now, everyone had exited the theater, so they were alone.

 

Eren dropped the smile and sighed. “Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t forget something like that.” He sat down at the edge of the stage, looked up at Armin, and said, “Alright, you wanted to know where I was today, and why I looked so sad? I never tell anyone, usually. I’m only telling you because, in the last few weeks, I’ve been so happy. You’ve made me a very happy man, Armin, and now I feel like I actually _want_ to tell you.”

 

He paused, to collect himself, took a deep breath, and continued, “My mom has cancer. It’s in the fourth stage, which is the worst. She’s slipping away, and there’s nothing the doctors can do about it. She’s always had some sort of medical problem, but throughout my life, she’s been able to fight everything life could throw at her. I love her so much, Armin, and I’m losing her.”

 

Eren buried his face in his hands, and Armin knew he was fighting off tears. He didn’t know what he could say to comfort his best friend, so he just sat down next to him, and put his arms around him, pulling him close.

 

After a time, Eren said, through his hands, “So, that’s where I was today. At the hospital, visiting her. She has her good days, and her bad ones. Today was an especially good one for her, so my dad wanted us to go and visit. I love my mom, and I love spending time with her, but seeing her like this really sucks. As much as I want to visit, I find myself dreading it, wondering if it will be the last time, or if seeing her broken will destroy me. It’s just…so hard.” He finished.

 

“Eren…I-“

 

“Oh, and that was my father dropping me off today. He’s never really supported homosexuality. I mean, he’s never outright said he was against it, but I’ve seen little signs here and there. As much as I don’t like that sort of narrow-minded view, I know that he’s going through just as much of a tough time as me, and I didn’t want to add that to his plate as well. It’s nothing against you at all, Armin, please know that. I just didn’t want him to get mad or upset and stop me from seeing you or anything crazy like that, okay?” Eren looked at him, a look of almost pleading in his eyes.

 

Armin grabbed Eren’s hand and started stroking it with his thumb. He held it up to his heart and said, “I don’t know what to say in situations like this, but I just want you to know that I’m here. This is proof that I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I said yes to being with you, which meant I accepted you for who you are. Nothing more, nothing less, my dad always used to say when he and my mom were together.”

 

Eren looked up, and gave Armin a look that made Armin shy away. When he looked back, Eren was still staring right at him. “What?” He asked.

 

“Nothing, it’s just…you’re amazing, you know that?”

 

“Nah, I’m really not, though. You, on the other hand, are quite the keeper.” Armin replied, smiling.

 

After a pause, Armin began again, “Maybe one day, we can go see your mom together? I’d really like to meet her.” He stopped himself, looking worried, and said, “Only if you’re okay with it of course. And not until you’re ready. I’d just really like to meet the woman who raised you, that’s all. She must be pretty great, too.”

 

For the first time that day, Eren laughed. A real laugh that Armin swore would make any deaf person gain their hearing. He absolutely loved the sound, and wanted to hear more of it. He leaned his head on Eren’s shoulder, their hands still interlocked.

 

After a time, Armin said, “We should probably get going.”

 

“Yeah…” Eren replied.

 

“Want to walk home together again?” Armin asked.

 

Eren looked relieved. “Yeah, that would be wonderful.”

 

They both stood up, and still holding hands, walked out of the drama room.

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

That night, Armin was lying in bed, thinking about how wonderful the day had actually turned out. _I thought he was acting sad because he was having second thoughts about us. He’s not! I really feel bad for him, though. I hope everything turns out okay._

 

Just then, he heard his phone buzz. Picking it up, he smiled at the screen.

 

**E: Hey, I just wanted to say thank you so much for today. It was really hard on me, and you made everything seem okay. I really like you, Armin. You’re probably the best thing that’s ever happened to my life. Goodnight, best friend/boyfriend <3**

 

Armin felt that wonderful stomach flip, and snuggled his pillow very tightly. Life was just…life was wonderful.

 


	11. Slip Ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY I'M SO SORRY FOR TAKING THIS LONG BUT I MOVED AND THINGS HAVE BEEN CRAZY.
> 
> With that out of the way, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to xXBlonde__BanditXx, who gave me the inspiration to sit at my computer this late at night and bust out this chapter. I'm sorry if I rushed anything, but I am generally happy with the result.
> 
> No beta, so if you see any mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos keep me writing. Love you all <3

 

“Don’t you dare, Eren.” Armin said, dangerously.

 

“I’m gonna. I’m going to and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Eren replied, a gleam in his eye.

 

“Eren, I’ve already said it once, don’t make me say it again. Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.”

 

“I’m actually a little scared of you right now. That’s one of the first times I’ve actually heard you swear, holy shit!” Eren said, dancing around the blonde. He then tackled Armin to the ground, pinning him down. Sitting on top of him, he looked Armin directly in the eyes, and slowly started leaning down. He inched closer, and closer. Armin felt himself tensing up, getting ready for it. Eren just kept leaning in. Armin closed his eyes, and started lifting his head, ready to receive the other. Eren brought his lips very close, and right before they made contact, switched courses and put them right next to Armin’s ear, and whispered, “Pride and Prejudice is the worst play ever created.”

 

Armin shoved Eren off of him, who then fell on the floor giggling and rolling around. Armin looked down at him and said, calmly, “I told you not to say that, yet you did it anyway. Your punishment is no kisses for a week! Who’s laughing now?” He said, giving Eren a menacing smile.

 

Eren suddenly stopped rolling around on the floor, and looked up at him, showing his biggest puppy dog eyes. “You wouldn’t do that to me. It would break my heart, and you don’t have it in you.”

 

Armin, who knew this was very much true, not just because he couldn’t hurt anyone, but also because he couldn’t go a week without kissing Eren, said “Oh yeah? Do you really want to test that claim?”

 

Weeks had gone by since Eren had divulged his mother’s condition, and Armin couldn’t have been happier. Almost all of the acting company had gone off book days before they were supposed to, and the entire play was running smoothly. _I can’t believe everything’s actually working out with this play. I’m usually having to tell people ‘it will all come together’ when they’re freaking out, but this is going really, really well, and I’m so proud of everyone. It’s actually going to be a really great show. Doesn’t hurt that I’ve got Hamlet for a boyfriend, either._

 

With that, he then sat down on top of Eren, who stopped what he was doing and looked up at him. Armin used one hand to take Eren’s in his, and used the other to slowly caress his hair. He absolutely loved playing and messing with his boyfriend’s hair. Not only was it a turn on for him, but it felt great to know that he could explore anywhere on the other’s body and not  get in trouble for it. _Well, almost anywhere,_ he thought to himself, _we haven’t done anything yet, and I’m perfectly happy where I am right now._

 

Still messing with his hair, Armin slowly started leaning in. This time, it was Eren who closed his eyes. Eren who leaned his head up. Armin slowly brought his down, until their lips were a centimeter apart. He didn’t move, but just sat in that position, examining the other.

 

He knew he loved Eren. He’d known for a while now. They hadn’t said it yet, but he knew. He loved everything about him. From the big things, like his personality, to the small things, like the smell and feel of his hot breath on his face when they were cuddling in a close embrace.

 

He still hadn’t moved, and after a moment, Eren opened his eyes. Armin looked him dead on, and still less than a centimeter apart, smiled, slowly maneuvering his tongue, and licked Eren’s lips. Eren let out a soft moan, slightly grinding against him, and muttered, “Fucking tease.”

 

Armin smiled, and leaned in. As usual, it was pure bliss. The feel of their lips touching. His childlike lips on Eren’s bigger, slightly chapped ones. The slightly wet feel of a slow, sensual kiss was everything Armin wanted at that point in time, and Eren was more than happy to comply. Armin had been hard since he’d leaned in for the teasing kiss, and almost involuntarily, he pushed his lower body into Eren, who then replied in kind. Now Armin was the one who found himself moaning, which seemed to excite Eren even more, for he felt the other start to kiss more feverishly, his grinding increasing with each kiss.

 

They kept like this for a time, and eventually, they both started to slow down, returning to their previous, passionate kiss. Finally, Armin stopped altogether, but didn’t separate their lips. They were intertwined, cuddling, with their lips locked in a frozen kiss, and Armin wished for nothing more than to stay like that for the rest of his life. He broke the kiss, ever so slightly.

 

“I love you.” He said.

 

_Shit fuck ass why did I say that!? Fuck fuck fucking fuckity fuck fuck shit shit shit well there goes my life goodbye world shit fuck ass what is wrong with me it hasn’t even been long enough yet what am I doing I’m like a little girl shit fuck ass what the-_

 

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Eren’s grip on him tighten. Eren pulled him close, his arms tightly holding the other, and whispered in his ear, “Oh my god, Armin, I love you so much. I love you so much, you don’t even know. I didn’t want to say anything and ruin everything but oh…my…god…I really, really love you. I find myself blessed every day that you walked in my life. I just…I don’t even have words anymore. You’ve reduced me to a wordless mute. That’s how happy I am whenever I’m with you.”

 

Armin, still dazed, began to feel tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn’t help it. He wasn’t one to cry in front of people, either. He could hold his tears back no problem when people beat him up, but this…this was too much. Eren sensed his tears, and pulled him away. “What’s wrong? Please don’t cry, Armin.”

 

Sniffling, Armin said “What you just said…it’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me, and probably the nicest thing I’ve ever heard anywhere. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but thank you for being in my life.” With that, he buried his face in Eren’s chest, tears still freely running down his face. Yes, he was crying, he couldn’t have been happier.  

 


	12. The One Week Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap you guys have been awesome with your comments, both on here, and on my tumblr, which can be found here:
> 
>  
> 
> [Shawnhodson.tumblr.com](http://www.shawnhodson.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> But yeah you guys are so great and everything you say keeps me writing, just know that. ;alksjdf;lakwjeflkaj I know this was a fast update, but I just felt inspired, so here you go! 
> 
> ALSO ALSO ALSO!!!! I only have like 3 (maybe a few more) chapters left and then it will be finished! I can't believe I'm almost done! ~sheds tears of joy and sadness~ 
> 
> I present to you a little JeanMarco in this chapter. I don't know their characters well enough to do them justice, so I'm sorry if anything is OOC!!!!

“Okay people, this isn’t the first time you’ve seen a costume room. Can we please act like we’re mature high school students about to put on a play, not that of four year olds about to play dress up and house?” Armin said, frustrated slightly, but still enjoying himself.

 

“But dress up is so fun, just look at Marco!” Jean replied.

 

Armin looked over at Marco. He was wearing a bright pink dress, shoes and crown included, looking quite embarrassed with himself.

 

Armin quickly grabbed Jean, and pulled him aside. “Jean, did you make him put that on?”

 

“I-“

 

“Don’t you lie to me.” Armin said, interrupting him.

 

“Well, yeah, kind of.” Jean replied, staring at the ground.

 

“I thought you had a crush on him. Was I wrong?” Armin asked.

 

Jean looked up at him, a little hurt and a little angry. “Wha- Of course I do! You know I do. That’s why I’ve been so infatuated with him since day one. What does that have to do with anything?”

 

“Well,” Armin began, feigning patience, “putting him in a dress against his will in front of all of the people that he is friends with, yes, but hasn’t known for that long is a sure fire way to make him not want to even be your friend, let alone date you. I’ve had enough bad experiences with bullying to know that even that can hurt a person. I’d go tell him to take it off, and apologize to him in private. It could do wonders for your relationship, whatever that is to become.” Armin told him, thinking back to all the times he’d been hurt because of other people’s ‘games’.

 

Jean’s face turned bright pink, and he said, “Armin, there’s a huge difference between bullying and having a little fun! I wouldn’t ever bully anyone, apart from Eren, I don’t even think I could!”

 

“Just because you don’t see it that way, doesn’t mean he doesn’t. Look at it from this perspective.  You’re the vice president of drama. He’s still ‘the new guy’. He’s going to try as hard as he can to try and fit in with the new group, and making friends with leadership is a good way to start. Based on how easy it was to get him in that dress, I’d also wager that he has a slight crush on you, which probably won’t last long based on what you’ve done to him so far.”

 

“I mean, he could just be-“

 

Armin again interrupted him. “Look, what’s the one thing about Marco that we all have noticed, even you?”

 

“Well, he’s always, and I mean _always_ happy. I bet that guy shits rainbows.” Jean began.

 

“Very good. Now, look over at him. Study him carefully.” Armin replied.

 

They looked over at Marco, who was looking around, quite uncomfortably. Jean’s bright pink face paled, and he said “You…you don’t think that will actually happen do you? Not liking me, I mean. Even if he does have a crush on me, which I’m not saying he does, he wouldn’t stop talking to me over that, would he?”

 

“If I didn’t know you, and you did that to me, I’d probably hate you, let alone stop talking to you.” Armin began. Pushing Jean away from him, he continued, “Now, go over there and apologize to him.”

 

Jean, being Jean, protested for a bit, but finally submitted and made his way over. Armin watched as Jean tapped on his shoulder and whispered something into his ear. Marco, looking slightly confused, nodded, and followed him around the corner and out of Armin’s sight. He sighed to himself. _Why do some people think it will make them liked to cause other people discomfort? Sure, it might not be that big of a deal to Marco, but for all we know, it could be. That guy is always happy; this has to be one of the first times I’ve seen him look anything but joyful to be alive._

 

He scanned the room, and his gaze rested on Eren, who was looking through a rack of clothes. He maneuvered through the room, and crept up behind the taller male. Standing on his tiptoes, he put his hands around the other’s eyes, and whispered in his ear, “Don’t move, or I’ll have to do something very dirty involving my sword and your butt.”

 

Eren paused, and then started wiggling.

 

Armin frowned, “What are you doing?”

 

Eren turned, and said “You said if I moved, and here I am, moving! I don’t see anything happening, you empty threated Aryan god of a man, you.”

 

Armin laughed, and, still on the tips of his toes, kissed Eren. He heard a few shouts of ‘whoop whoop!’ and ‘get that booty, Arlert!’ They weren’t bothering to hide it in drama anymore; everyone knew, and they were all very supportive.

 

When they broke apart, Eren said, with a look of wonder on his face, “I can’t believe the show is in less than a week!”

 

“I know! We’re even on schedule too! You’re new, so you wouldn’t understand, but usually, at this point in time, most people aren’t even off book yet. Here we are, getting ready to do a full run-through _in costume_ , with an entire week to spare! I might even get to set all my light cues and everything!” Armin said, ecstatically.

 

He saw Jean come back in, followed by a normally-dressed Marco. Jean looked quite pleased with himself, and Marco was back to his usual happy self. Once they’d gone their separate ways, Armin turned to Eren and said “I guess things turned out better. I was just talking to Jean about something. I’d tell you about it, but that’s his personal secret to divulge to you. I won’t be the one to blabber.”

 

“What, about the fact that Jean made him put on a dress and it might have put stress on their friendship, and future relationship?” Eren asked, nonchalantly.

 

Armin looked at him, stunned. “How did you-“

 

“Hey, just because I’m a football jock doesn’t mean I can’t read people. I’m usually pretty good at that. Except with you of course. It’s obvious they’re falling head over heels for each other, someone should hurry up and do something about that.” He reached down and interlocked their hands together. “Think of all the moments they’ve already missed by delaying this long. Moments like a first kiss, a first cuddle, saying ‘I love you’ for the first time. Things that make someone feel like the happiest person on the planet. Things you and I have already experienced in the best way.” He finished, leaning his head on Armin’s shoulder.

 

“You know, you say the sweetest things.” Armin replied, using his free hand to play with Eren’s hair. After a moment, he said, “Okay, maybe I won’t use my sword this time.”

 

Eren lifted his head and said “Hey! You said I was sweet! Not that I deserve punishment! What did I do to deserve that?”

 

Armin laughed, and hugged the figurative crap out of his boyfriend. 

 


	13. The Last Rehearsal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap I'm so sorry it's taken me this long. work and blah blah. 
> 
> But yeah, here's 1500 words for you! I think I only have three chapters to go, until this fic has its' final curtain! 
> 
> My tumblr can be found here at : www.shawnhodson.tumblr.com
> 
> Kudos and Comments are always appreciated and keep me writing <3

“Alright folks! We’ve got less than twenty-four hours until we open our show!” Armin said, beaming at the collection of people formed around him. Grinning like the idiot he was, he continued, “This is going to be our last run through, our last chance to improve ourselves and put on a show that is perfect. Even if nothing changes, and the show remains as it is, I want you all to know how proud I am of each and every one of you. You’ve all done such wonderful things, and made so many improvements to yourselves throughout these last few months.” He paused, finally sneaking a peak at Eren, who was smiling at him, before continuing “Well, that’s enough of my rambling. Let’s get started with our last rehearsal!”

 

Everyone cheered, a few people went ‘aww’, and Armin couldn’t blame either group. On the one hand, it was good to finally be putting on the show that they had all worked so hard on, but it was also sad, knowing that their time together was coming to an end, even if it was for a short period of time. It was hard for Armin not to be both sad and happy, especially as he was the president of it all. Something must have shown on his face, for Eren made his way over, and hugged Armin from behind.

 

“Hey boo, why the long face? That’s Jean’s job.” Eren said, loud enough for Jean to hear.

 

“The fuck you say?” Jean said, looking over at them.

 

“Oh nothing! Just telling Armin how nice you look today. I know how much you’ve been talking, and I just wanted to make sure your voice wasn’t…hoarse.” Eren replied, giving Jean his most innocent smile.

 

“How about I stick my foot up your ass, then we can talk about how ‘nice’ that feels.” Jean retorted. Marco, sensing a problem, made his way over and pulled Jean away. Not before they heard Jean saying something like “Jeager” and “have to open his mouth to get my shoe off, that’s how far I’ll stick my foot.”

 

After the dress incident, Jean had gone and apologized to Marco, as well as asked him out to coffee. Marco, being the nice person he was, both accepted the apology and said yes. They’d now gone on three dates, and things were looking up for the both of them. Neither of them were much into publicly showing this, but Armin knew, as did Eren.

 

Armin raised his arms, and latched them onto his boyfriends, hugging them tightly. “Nothing is wrong, I’m just both really sad and really happy that this play is coming to an end. I wonder who’s going to stay on with us after this show and do more in the future.” He felt his stomach knot up. This was something he’d been avoiding talking about with Eren for a while now. He knew that with football and everything else that it was unlikely that Eren would be in future shows, but he didn’t want to hear it until as late as possible. He _loved_ spending time with Eren, and most of it came from theater.

 

“I can’t wait to see who stays too!” Eren said, kissing Armin on the cheek. “What play are we doing next?”

 

“I’m not sure, I was thinking of doing The Book of Mormon, since it’s so popular right now with everyone el- wait, did you just say ‘what play are _we_ doing next?” Armin said, not sure if he’d heard correctly.

 

“Yeah, what about it?” Eren asked.

 

Armin turned around so he was looking at Eren’s face. “Well, I just thought, because of football and stuff…” he muttered.

 

Eren gave Armin that smile. That smile that made his insides churn with butterflies. “What, you think I’d be leaving this awesome group? I love being here! Even if Jean is here. You can’t have all good without a little bad I guess. But yeah, I think I can do both Football and this at the same time. It will be hard, but it will be worth it. You’ll be worth it.” He finished, leaning in and kissing him. Armin kissed back, not even caring who was watching. Once again, Eren had made him feel happier than he thought possible.

 

“Hey, lovebirds, are we going to get started with rehearsal or what?” someone shouted at them. They broke apart, and everyone began taking their respective positions to begin rehearsal. They’d all put on their costumes earlier, so the only thing left to do was start up the lights and cue points. Armin had made the cue points himself, but as he was in the play, they’d needed to find someone who wasn’t in the show, but was willing to do the lights. He’d put out a flier requesting lights service, and had gotten a response back within an hour from a freshman, Arthur. Once Armin had gotten to know him, he’d agreed to let Arthur run the lights.

 

Rehearsal went as well as Armin could have hoped. Every light was perfectly cued and executed, every speech was given without error, and not one person had to call for lines. In short, Armin was ecstatic with his cast and crew.

 

After the run-through, Armin called for everyone’s attention, and said “Wonderful job, everyone. If you bring that kind of enthusiasm to tomorrow’s performance, we’re going to kill it! Remember, the show starts at 7:30. Doors open at 7:00, and our call time is 5:00 for makeup and last minute edits. I want everyone to be there on time! As for tonight, I know you all probably want to go home and play games, sleep, or do whatever, but we still have a lot to do here! The stage needs to be painted, sets still need to be worked on, and we need to get this room ready for our audience, as well as a show! Helping isn’t mandatory, but I would appreciate it; otherwise I’ll be here by myself all night.”

 

In the end, nearly everyone agreed to stay and help. He put Jean and Marco in charge of fixing the sets. Himself, Eren, and Mikasa were in charge of painting the stage, and the rest of the crew were in charge of brining in chairs for the audience, as well as cleaning up the area so they could put on a wonderful show.

 

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Six hours, three war-painted faces, a few bruises, and one hungry Sasha later, they all sat in chairs, exhausted, staring at a painted stage, fully equipped with sets and all. It was nearly midnight, and most people had already left. Eren, Jean, Marco, Annie and himself were the only ones still around. After a few minutes of sitting down, Armin finally said “Good work everyone, go home, get some good rest, and be ready to go by five tomorrow. You’ve all done great work.

 

There were mumbled ‘thanks’ and grunts from everyone remaining, as they started to file out. Once again, it was just he and Eren in the room.

 

He turned to ask Eren how he was getting home, and was slammed backwards into a chair. He was about to say something, when Eren’s lips met his and stole his breath away. Taken aback, Armin slowly started kissing back, and Eren maneuvered himself better, so that he was sitting in Armin’s lap. He felt himself getting hard and Eren didn’t help; he took his hands and maneuvered them under Armin’s shirt, and started stroking his back. Armin let out a small whimper, and whispered “Eren.”

 

After a few minutes of feverish kissing, Eren broke apart and said “Sorry, I’ve been wanting to do that all day, and it’s taken a lot of willpower not to lay a finger on you up to this point.”

 

“No harm done.” Armin said, grinning sheepishly.

 

They stared at each other for what felt like hours, just looking into each other’s eyes. After a while, Eren’s phone went off. Picking it up, he said “Hello? Okay! I’ll be out in a minute. Bye.” Hanging up the phone, he said “That was my dad. He’s outside. I’ve gotta go.”

 

“Yeah” Armin breathed.

 

“I love you, so much.” Eren said.

 

“Yeah.” Armin said again.

 

“Hey!” Eren said, punching Armin in the arm.

 

He snickered, and said, “I love you too, now get out of here you big dummy before your dad gets upset.”

 

“Oh yeah!” Eren said, “I forgot to ask, would you like to sleep over tonight? Dad said it was okay this morning and I’ve completely spaced up to this point. I know it’s midnight, but we don’t have to do anything until five tomorrow, and yeah. Would you like to?”

 

Armin thought it over for about a tenth of a second before saying “Heck yes!”

 

Eren grinned, and intertwined his fingers with Armin’s. “Sweet! Want to head over in about a half hour then?”

 

“Sure! I’ll just drop my stuff off at home and grab something to eat, then I’ll head over.” Armin replied. He got up to leave, but Eren didn’t let him move, and kissed him again.

 

Armin broke the kiss, and said “Eren! If your dad gets mad at you, I won’t spend the night!”

 

Eren paled, and ran out of the room.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh does anyone else sense some frickle frackle coming up?


	14. That Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Armin have their second sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTICE THE RATING CHANGE
> 
>  
> 
> OH MY GOD HOW LONG DO I TAKE TO UPDATE? I KNOW RIGHT?
> 
> Well, to make up for it, here's a chapter more than three times the length of my usual one. I hope this makes up for the delay! This was SO FREAKING HARD TO WRITE.
> 
> ALSO. Notice the chapter, and how many left. That is all.

_Alright. Breathe, Armin. Nothing is going to happen tonight. Why would it? We’ve only been together, what, a few months? Why would anything happen tonight. It will be fine. Breathe._

 

It was later that evening, after the final rehearsal, and Armin was sitting alone in his bed. Every few seconds, he’d grab his phone, just to make sure that Eren hadn’t texted him. His stomach was a mess of emotion, and he couldn’t figure out why.

 

 _We’ve been dating a while now! I shouldn’t feel like this. It’s just a sleepover, sheesh._ He paused, and actually considered what he was feeling. A smile slowly crept onto his face. _Well, I guess it’s really, really good that after this much time, I still get so nervous around him. I really do love him, and the fact that it can still show like this over something so trivial just proves that._

 

Still smiling, Armin got out of bed, and started packing for the night.

 

==============================================

 

_Oh my god, he’s finally coming over again. I’m so going to cuddle the shit out of him. Yeah. I’m going to cuddle him so hard that the cuddle police will have to take me away for over cudd-ulation. Yep, that’s what’s going to happen tonight._

 

Eren, much like his lover, was also in his bed. He was breathing rather hard, though, as he’d just spent the better part of the last two hours cleaning his room. Nothing would be going wrong tonight, not even his room. He had to say, it was the first time he was able to see the floor in a long time.

 

He pulled out his phone, and sent a text to Armin, telling him to come on over.

 

================================================

 

In what felt like no time at all, Armin found himself in front of the Yeager household. Tentatively, he knocked three times. There was a loud commotion inside, then the door flung open. Before Armin could let out so much as a sound, he was jumped by said cause of the loud commotion.

 

“Hi.” Eren said, though his voice was muffled as he had his face in Armin’s shoulder.

 

Armin, upon hearing Eren’s voice, hugged back, and giving a tight squeeze, said, “Oh hey.”

 

“Jesus Eren, you saw him…what…four hours ago at most?” Came a third voice from behind them. Breaking off the embrace, Armin saw Eren’s father, Grisha, heading down the stairs.

 

“Yeah, but that’s a whole four hours and he is so huggable, I mean look at him.” Eren said, using his hands to gesture in his general direction. He felt his face starting to heat up. Eren was talking to his dad about how _cute_ he was. Not in a direct way, but hadn’t Eren said that his father didn’t like this sort of thing?

 

“Yeah, well just keep your pants on and you can hug him all you like.” Grisha said, narrowing his eyes. “I’ve got to go out tonight, and I probably won’t be home until tomorrow morning. A client is sick, and it’s a few hours’ drive, so they’ve offered to let me stay the night. Food is where it always is, don’t get into any trouble, and for the love of god, don’t get the police called on you _again,_ or I’ll have to get you a babysitter.”

 

“Daaaadd,” Eren began, “I’m almost seventeen. That was ages ago. I’m much more mature now.”

 

“It was last year, and if anything, you’ve gotten worse.” Grisha replied, though with a small smile on his face. “Now, I’ve got to go. Nice meeting you, Armin.”

 

“Y-you too, Mr. Yeager.” Armin said.

 

He left, and not a second after the door closed, Eren was back on him.

 

“Alright, Eren, I love you too. Down boy. Good boy.”

 

Eren stuck out his tongue and gave a puppy dog face. Armin patted him on his head, and Eren, being Eren, licked his face.

 

“Bad puppy.” Armin said, wiping his face on Eren’s shirt. Eren again gave his puppy dog eyes, and Armin said, “Alright. One kiss.” Before giving him a quick peck on the lips. “Now, what do you want to do?” He asked.

 

“I want to fuck your brains out.” Eren remarked.

 

“W-what?” Armin asked.

 

“I said, do you want to play Mario Kart or Smash Bros?” he asked.

 

“Oh, Okay. I thought that’s what you said.” Armin replied, snickering. “Well, as I’ll destroy you at either one, I guess we could play smash. Melee or Brawl?”

 

A gleam appeared in Eren’s eyes. “Melee of course. If you’re going to lose, at least do it with dignity without some final smash bullshit.”

 

“A challenge, Yeager?” Armin asked.

 

“I don’t see a challenger worthy of my skills.” Eren replied, mischievously.

 

Eren led them to the living room, where they had a GameCube, along with several other systems, already set up. He tossed a controller to Armin, who caught it. “You can be player one. You’ll need it.” He said.

 

“Well, you’re always player one to me.” Armin said, before he could stop himself.

 

Eren stared at Armin.

 

Armin stared at Eren.

 

“That was so cheesy and bad.” Eren said, grinning.

 

“Shut up and lose already.” Armin replied, also smiling.

 

They loaded up the game. Armin picked his favorite, as usual, Zelda. Eren muttered a “You would.” Before locking in random, an evil smirk on his face. Of course, he got link. On the stage selection, they again picked random, and to Armin’s pleasure, they got his favorite map, Hyrule: Temple.

 

It was no contest. Armin won five out of five games, almost effortlessly.

 

“Eren, you’re like, really bad at this.” Armin said, laughing.

 

“Woah there buddy, I’m just getting started.” Eren said.

 

“Yeah, whatever you say. I’ll tell you what. If you can beat me, I’ll grant you one wish. Whatever you want.”

 

Eren looked over at him, calculating. “Deal.” He said. They shook hands. The moment the handshake broke, Eren grinned widely.

 

“What?” Armin asked.

 

“Nothing.” Eren said.

 

They started up the sixth game. Eren didn’t pick random this time, he picked Kirby, which Armin knew was the second worst ranking character in Smash Brothers Melee. He didn’t say anything though.

 

Thirty seconds into the game, Armin knew something was wrong. Eren’s movements had become too fast, too _precise,_ for someone as bad as Eren had been. _That bastard planned this. He feigned bad play just so he could catch me with my pants down and beat me the moment I got cocky._

 

They were doing stock, ten lives each, and Armin lost all ten of his lives before Eren lost even two.

 

“You…I…what?” Was all Armin could say.

 

“You are really good dude! But yeah, when you make a bet I can’t just sit back and let you win.” He stood up and acted like he was putting something in his pocket.

 

“What are you doing?” Armin asked.

 

“Saving the favor you owe me for later. I know exactly how I want to use it, just not when or exactly what I want to do with it.”

 

“I hate you.” He said, glaring at Eren.

 

“No you don’t.” The boy replied, winking and maneuvering until he was sitting down next to him. He leaned in, and kissed Armin, very slowly.

 

Once the initial surprise of the kiss wore away, Armin cupped his hand on Eren’s face as they kissed. How they went from gaming to this in a matter of seconds, he didn’t know. Nor did he care.

 

Eren broke the kiss, and had them both get up. Armin was rather embarrassed to do so, as he was hard, but he did anyway. Eren laid back down on the couch, and patted the spot in front of him. Armin complied, and was soon lying on top of Eren, his body facing away from the other.

 

“Knew I’d be the big spoon.” Eren whispered in his ear.

 

“Shut up.” Armin replied, before kissing him again. He was afraid it would be awkward, turning his head to kiss Eren without turning his body, but it actually felt…nice. Eren’s hands were inside Armin’s shirt, just rubbing his upper body. That also felt heavenly. Armin was whimpering every now and then, which just seemed to make Eren happier.

 

Eren’s hands started moving downward. And they didn’t stop. Past his nipples. Past his belly button. When they reached his belt, Armin let out a high pitched squeak. Eren opened his eyes, mid kiss, and said, “Want me to stop?”

 

“N-no” Armin said, and re-engaged their kiss.

 

Eren started undoing the belt on Armin’s jeans. Armin wanted to help, but when he made a move to try, Eren just used his free hand to lock his arms in place. He stopped trying and just let it happen.

 

After a few seconds of effort, Eren finally removed the belt. He then opened the button, and slowly unzipped his pants. Armin involuntarily pushed is pelvis upward, grinding into Eren’s hand, and letting out a small moan.

 

“Eager, are we?” Eren mumbled, his breath heavy on Armin’s lips.

 

Eren started tugging down Armin’s pants, and once they were around his knees, Armin lifted his legs, and Eren used his legs to kick them off. Now Armin was in his boxers, his erection plain to see through the material. Eren hadn’t even opened his eyes through this whole thing, keeping his focus on kissing him.

 

Armin made a move to turn and start undoing Eren’s pants, after all, it wasn’t fair that just he had to take his off, but Eren stopped him.

 

“What?” Armin asked.

 

“Just…let me. Please?” Eren asked.

 

“…Fine.” Armin said, relaxing. The kiss now broken, Eren put his full attention on Armin’s body, which made him a little uncomfortable. This was soon forgotten though, as Eren started massaging the area around Armin’s crotch, which elicited several moans from the boy. This continued for several minutes, but to Armin, it was weeks. Finally, _finally,_ after what seemed like forever, Eren fiddled with the hole in Armin’s boxers, and once inside, pulled Armin’s throbbing erection out of it. The moment he made contact, Armin closed his eyes, and tilted his head back.

 

“I’m sorry.” Armin mumbled, barely loud enough for Eren to hear.

 

Eren stopped what he was doing, and looked at him quizzically. “For what?”

 

Armin took one look at his penis and that made it all clear for Eren. “Dude, shut the fuck up. It’s one of the largest ones I’ve ever seen.”

 

“R-really?” Armin asked.

 

“Well, seeing as now the only ones I’ve ever seen are mine and yours, yes! Eren said, smiling.

 

Armin hit him, playfully.

 

“Seriously though, you’re perfect. Absolutely perfect. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

 

Eren started stroking it. Very slowly. _Painfully, wonderfully_ slowly. Armin arched his back, and moaned freely, all thoughts of size gone.

 

Eren wasn’t looking at Armin’s cock; he was watching Armin’s face. He was fascinated the way Armin’s face changed when he was happy, but this was something new. This was…beautiful. It was the only way Eren could describe it.

 

Armin was squirming. Eren loved watching his body move. From the way his legs would twitch, to his hands, when they would reach up and start stroking the other’s hair, each movement was bliss for Eren.

 

After a few moments, he started picking up the pace. He stoked, faster, and faster, until Armin said, “Eren, stop, I’m getting really, really close.”

 

“And?” Eren asked, picking up the pace even more.

 

“Eren, Eren, stop. I’m going to…Eren!” Armin said, but Eren didn’t stop. He stroked faster, and faster, until Armin, letting out a quick breath, said “I’m coming. A-ahh” and, arching his back, moaning very loudly, came over the both of them.

 

He continued to stroke Armin, until Armin started laughing and said “Stop.”

 

He let go of the other’s now less-than-hard penis, and, not caring what was all over them now, cupped Armin’s face and kissed him again.

 

After a few moments, Armin broke the kiss and said, “Not that I’m not absolutely fucking happy right now, but this is really, really gross. Can I like, shower or something?”

 

“Yeah, of course.” Eren said. “I probably should too.”

 

They carefully got up, and made their way to the bathroom. Once inside, Eren grabbed a towel and tossed it to Armin, who had already taken off all of his clothes.

 

He was about to get into the shower, when a thought struck him. “Do you…want to shower together?” Armin asked, quietly.

 

Eren looked at him, and in the span of five seconds, removed all of his clothes apart from his boxers. “I was hoping you would ask that.” He said. Armin looked Eren up and down, amazed. He was tanned over his entire body, though he knew he would be. Eren had told him that he was darker skinned, but this was… _downright hot._ He was muscular, but not too much, and Armin started getting hard again just looking at him. Noticing this, he quickly turned and started fiddling with the shower buttons, until the shower was a temperature he found bearable. Then, he stepped in. It felt good to get his babies off him, though as he was wearing clothes, it was only really on his arms.

 

He heard Eren get into the shower, and froze. This would be the first time he’d see…

 

Turning, his breath caught in his throat. Eren was nearly two thirds the size of Armin…and he was _soft._

 

Eren closed the gap, and pressing their wet, naked bodies together, started kissing him again. He found himself thinking “ _I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this.”_

 

Separating their bodies, but keeping the kiss going, Armin started rubbing his hands up and down Eren’s body. Eren’s breathing started getting harder. Armin made his way down, and, after a quick pause, grabbed hold of Eren. He was still soft, which impressed Armin, as he couldn’t ever have that much self control.

 

He started stroking, and Eren quickly became aroused. It just…kept getting bigger and bigger. He didn’t think it could, but it did. He had to be at least two inches longer and twice the girth of Armin! 

 

Breaking the kiss, he said “It’s freaking huge!”

 

Eren smiled, and started kissing him again.

 

Armin started stroking faster, eliciting several very attractive moans from Eren. After a bit of this, a thought struck Armin. He let go, and broke the kiss. Eren looked at him like a lost puppy, but Armin got down on his knees, and continued pumping with his hand. Eren’s own hands found their way into Armin’s hair, and started slowly running his hands through it.

 

Armin finally took the initiative, after staring at it, and tentatively licked the tip. Eren’s hands jerked, and he let out a moan, whispering “Armin...”

 

This was too much for the smaller boy, and, after one last glance at his lover, took Eren in his mouth. Not all of it, he thought that impossible, but about half.

 

He started bobbing his head up and down, while using his hand to stroke Eren’s shaft. Eren bent over until he was practically hunched over Armin, one hand in his hair, the other grabbing the wall for support. “Armin, I’m getting close.” Was all he said.

 

The blonde didn’t stop; to the contrary, he picked up the pace. Eren’s breathing became harder and harder, until he finally let out one last breath. He felt Eren’s cock twitch in his mouth, and then he took a mouthful. He tried to swallow, but he found the taste to be rather bad, and some fell out of his mouth. Eren shot, and shot, and shot. Load after load, Armin tried to swallow it all, but in the end, he found himself coughing. Once he was done, Armin gave a few last pumps, and then stood back up.

 

“That was gross.” Armin said.

 

Eren, who now looked very spent, smiled, and said “Your fault.”

 

They embraced, just hugging each other. Armin was hard again, but his penis hurt a bit, and was hoping Eren wouldn’t start doing anything again.

 

After what could have either been seconds or weeks, Armin couldn’t tell, they broke apart, and started using the shower for what it was meant for. After they got all cleaned up, they stepped out, and used the towel to dry off. Armin kept stealing glances at Eren’s body. He was so fascinated by it.

 

“You know, you can look all you want. I won’t mind.” Eren said.

 

Armin’s face heated up, and he threw the towel at the green-eyed ass hole.

 

================================================

 

Once they’d gotten completely dry, and gotten a change of clothes, they’d gone back downstairs. After checking to make sure none of Armin’s babies had gotten on the couch, Eren grabbed some blankets, and pulled Armin into the cuddle fest that he’d promised himself he would.

 

“Careful, the cuddle police are going to come get me” Eren said.

 

“What?” Armin asked.

 

“Nothing.” Eren said, quickly, but sleepily.

 

“Dork.” Was all Armin could say, before he fell asleep.

 

================================================

 

He was awoken abruptly by shouting. He didn’t register much of it at first, as he was still half asleep, but once he’d woken up a little, he realized two things. The first was that it was still night, and the second was that Eren was no longer in his Arms. He listened.

 

“I do not give a fuck, Eren. I said no.” The first said.

 

“Dad! I love him and you can’t just be a…fucking homophobe your whole life!” This was Eren’s voice, and to Armin’s dread, the other one must have been Grisha.

 

“Son, I do not care who it is, I will not allow this in my household. He has to leave, now.” Grisha said, his voice rising.

 

“You’re a real asshole, you know that? A fucking asshole.” Eren replied. He was obviously crying.

 

“I may be an asshole, but I know what I do or do not want in my household. You are a child. Still a child. If it was a girl, I would be reacting the same way. If you were with a girl, I wouldn’t want them spending the night either. He’s got to leave.”

 

“You’re a fucking liar.” Eren said. Suddenly, the door opened, and Eren came through. He slammed the door, and said, “I’m so sorry, Armin. How much did you hear?”

 

“Enough.” Armin said, rubbing his eye. “It’s fine, I’ll go home.”

 

“I really, really don’t want you to. But I’m afraid of what dad will do if I fight him.” Eren said, tears freely running down his face.

 

“Seriously, it’s fine.” Armin walked up, and hugged him. Hugged him very tightly, and said, “No matter what your dad says, I love you, and you love me. That changes nothing, okay?” He wiped the tears off of Eren’s face.

 

Eren sniffled, then smiled. “I’ll walk you home, okay?”

 

“Yeah.” Armin said.

 

They put all of Armin’s things back in his bag, including his clothes from earlier that night. _Thank god he didn’t see those,_ Armin thought. _For all he knows, we were just cuddling._

 

They left Eren’s house, and made their way back to Armin’s, completely in silence. Once they reached his  doorstep, Eren said, “I’m so sorry about this, Armin.”

 

“Eren, I told you, it’s seriously nothing. We’ll get past this. We always do and we always will.” He then gave Eren one last kiss, trying to put all of his thoughts and emotions into it, trying to let Eren know that nothing had changed.

 

Eren broke the kiss, and squeezed Armin’s hand. “You’re really great, you know that?”

 

“No, that’s you.” Armin said, smiling.

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” Eren asked.

 

“Yeah, of course.” He replied, and went inside.

 

He raced up to his bedroom, and, opening the curtain, watched Eren walk home. He kept watching, until the darkness engulfed him.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO BAD AT SMUT I'M SO, SO SORRY.
> 
> Ooooh what will happen? Two chapters left!
> 
> Also, please follow me on Tumblr! I always follow back, and will post my updates there:
> 
> www.shawnhodson.tumblr.com


	15. The Show Must Go On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, here it is. The second to last chapter, and the last chapter in this current timeline. Yes, you heard right, the last chapter is going to be an epilogue. So please, enjoy this chapter, because this is the last time you will see my babies at this age.
> 
> ALSO, I know it's a little late, but I want to start tracking the tag "2BRN2B". I would seriously die and turn into a puddle of goo if any of you did art for this. It would make my LIFE. (follow me at www.shawnhodson.tumblr.com)
> 
> But yeah, without further ado, I give you the second to last chapter.

 

_It’s almost time. The day has finally, finally arrived. Holy shit. The day has arrived. This is not good. Of course it isn’t good. Why would it be good? What could possibly be good about the day ‘finally’ arriving? Stupid, stupid, stupid. No one is ready, nothing is prepared, and everything is going to fall to pieces. Shit is just going to hit the fan and guess what, I’ll be known as the guy who was in charge of this catastrophe. Yep, that’s exactly what’s going to happen._

 

As usual before opening night, Armin was overthinking himself into an early grave. It was mere hours before the performance, 3:24 in the afternoon to be exact, and he was sitting alone in the dressing room.

 

A new, more reassuring little Armin voice popped into his head. _Armin, things are going to be absolutely fine. You’ve worked so hard on this, and everyone is going to do great. You’ve personally seen everything they have done, and everything you’ve helped to accomplish. Now, go do something useful with the next three and a half hours you have until show time._

 

Little Armin 2.0 inside his head was right. What was done was done, and worrying would accomplish nothing else. Knowing this, he pulled out his phone and looked. _No new messages from Eren._ He sighed.

 

Since the previous night’s events, they hadn’t shared one text message. At first, Armin was going to text him, but as time passed, he’d hoped that Eren would be the first to initiate a conversation. After a while, Armin began to stubbornly refuse to send a message, as he was the last one to send something, and refused to be ‘that clingy boyfriend who sends two messages in a row’.

 

There was also the little detail of Eren’s dad, and the fact that Armin didn’t know what was going to happen now that he’d found out. _He seemed so angry,_ Armin thought. He really, really hoped that it didn’t put a rift in their relationship. He knew how much he meant to Eren, but he didn’t know his family values, or how much that would change everything.

 

_What if he leaves me because of this? What if his father is so demanding of it, that he is forced to. Or…what if he leaves me of his own choice because I didn’t stick up for him last night to his father?_

 

Suddenly, a knife went through Little Armin’s stomach, killing him. The owner of the knife, Little Armin 2.0, took over again.

 

_Shut the fuck up! He loves you and you love him, and nothing is going to change that. It’s just the aspect of opening night that’s worrying you. When I told you to go do something useful with your time, that didn’t mean I wanted you to change the subject to something even worse! Now, go rehearse or something. People will be arriving soon._

 

Armin decided not to argue with the conscience with a knife.

 

============================================

 

Three hours later, Eren had still not arrived. Armin was, to put it frankly, freaking the fuck out.

 

_Nearly 6:30 and he’s not here. Doors open at 7:00. Curtain is at 7:30. We are absolutely screwed. Absolutely freaking screwed. Why didn’t I do an understudy? What the hell was I thinking? Oh, maybe that we don’t have the people to do this freaking play let alone have understudies!_

 

He was pacing around the room. All around him, people were putting on makeup, adjusting their costumes, and running last minute lines. It was a picture perfect scene, apart from the fact that their main actor wasn’t there.

 

One last time, Armin pulled out his phone. In desperation, he dialed Eren’s number again. Putting it up to his ear, he prayed. He prayed that Eren would pick up this time. That he was asleep, or something along those lines.

 

_Ring…ring…ring_

 

Armin felt the ever-growing dread start to overpower his thought process. What if his dad had done something crazy to him, like hit him? What if he’d forced Eren into a car and taken him away?

 

_Ring…ring…ring_

 

What if he’s decided that this wasn’t for him, and he wasn’t showing up of his own accord? What if he got cold feet and decided that he couldn’t do this? What if-

 

_“Hi! You’ve reached Eren Jeager. Please leave your na-name, shit. Whatever, you know what to do.”_

 

Armin hung up the phone before the beep went off; he’d left Eren enough messages already. If he wasn’t here, there was a reason for it that was beyond him.

 

Defeated, Armin sat down at a desk, and put his head in his hands. Through all the commotion, no one noticed him.

 

_Why! Why did that have to happen last night! I’ve ruined everything! Just because I couldn’t keep it in my freakin’ pants. Way to go, Arlert. Now you don’t have a boyfriend or a show to put on._

 

He was interrupted as his phone buzzed, twice, signaling a text message. A jolt of electricity went through him at the thought that it could possibly, _possibly_ be Eren.

 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and before he clicked it on, he saw the green light, meaning it was a text message from someone. Apprehensively, he turned on his phone.

 

**E: Be there in 5. So. Freaking. Sorry.**

 

The world’s largest figurative wave washed over him. Eren was coming. He was going to make it. Late, and pushing it, but he was going to be there in time for the opening of the show. Hamlet didn’t appear in the first scene anyway, which bought him at least twenty extra minutes. Plus, because of his complexion, he barely needed to put on any makeup. The costumes they had decided on were simple enough, so, when rushed, Armin figured he could have Eren stage-ready in under ten minutes. He looked at his watch. _6:39, thank the god of everything that both does and does not exist._

 

There was a crash as the door burst open. Turning, Armin saw Eren running in, very much out of breath. The room went silent.

 

“I…am…so…sorry…everyone.” Eren said, leaning on the wall, every word punctuated by hard breathing. “Things…came up. I promise I won’t be late…again.”

 

There was a pause, as no one in the room said anything. Then, from the back of the room, Connie said, “Wait, you weren’t here this whole time?”

 

After a second, in which Sasha slapped her face with her hand, everyone in the room started laughing. After that, everything went back to normal, or as normal as could be in the  current circumstance. Armin rushed over to Eren.

 

“Are…are you okay?” Armin asked.

 

“Can we talk real quick? I won’t be long.” Eren said.

 

Dread returned to the pit of Armin’s stomach, but he said “Yeah.”

 

They left the room, and went to the nearby choir room. At this time of night, no one had been in there for hours. Eren walked in first, followed by Armin. By now, his stomach was churning with apprehension.

 

He was about to say something. Anything. Maybe something along the lines of, “I know last night sucked, and if you don’t want to do this anymore, I totally understand”, but before he could, Eren turned, placed one hand on the back of Armin’s head, and slowly pulled him into a kiss.

 

Armin was completely caught off guard. After a few seconds though, he tentatively returned the kiss. It was slow, and perfect. It was as though Eren was desperately trying to convey every single thing he wanted to say in one sweet, passionate kiss.

 

After a minute or so, Armin didn’t keep track, they broke apart. Eren looked deep into Armin’s eyes, and gave a half smile. “I’m really, really sorry, Armin. Dad and I have been fighting all day, and he took my phone. It took all day to convince him to let me have it back, and to let me come here. Things are in no way good between him and me, but at least I have this.” He gave Armin one last quick kiss, and then put his hand in his pocket. When he removed it, there was nothing inside. He held it up for Armin.

 

“What are you doing?” Armin asked.

 

“Remember when I put that I.O.U. in my pocket? Well, now I’m going to cash it in. You said I could have whatever I want, so you can’t complain about this at all.”

 

Armin started to protest. “Eren, you don’t have to use that on something like this. I forgive you for being late, and I totally understand wh-“He was cut off by Eren putting his hand on Armin’s crotch.

 

He looked down, almost instantly getting hard. Eren started moving his hand up, and down.

 

“E-eren” Armin said, his breath already becoming ragged, “We don’t…have time…for this.”

 

“Shh” Eren began, “We have over half an hour. I am not in the first scene, so I have plenty of time. This is what I want, and you owe me, so, please? Besides, it’s literally the least I could do to make it up to you. Just shut up and let me.”

 

“I…But…Fine.” Armin said. He moved to start unbuttoning Eren’s pants, but Eren stopped him.

 

“Nope. That’s not what I want.” Eren said. “I want to pleasure _you,_ and you alone. This will not go two ways.”

 

Armin whined. “But that’s not fair Eren! I can’t let you do that!”

 

Eren gave him a malicious grin. “Well then, why don’t you go back in time and beat me at Smash then? Or, you could just use one of your I.O.U.s on me. Oh wait, you don’t have any.” And, with Armin in full costume, Eren dropped down to his knees, and unbuttoned Armin’s pants.

 

Armin started stroking Eren’s hair, which seemed to make Eren clumsier in his efforts. He finally got the buttons undone, and dropped his pants, leaving Armin in his boxers. Removing these, and leaving Armin completely exposed, Eren stopped what he was doing and stared.

 

After a minute, he put his hand on Armin’s cock. Armin let out a whimper. But, Eren made no attempt to stroke him. He just kept staring at it, and used his hand to move it around.

 

“W-what are you doing?” Armin asked.

 

“Looking at it. It’s as beautiful as you are.”

 

Armin felt himself turning into a tomato. “What? It’s a penis dude.”

 

Despite himself, Eren laughed. “Yeah, but still, it’s perfect. You’re perfect.” And before Armin could mutter a retort, Eren started stroking it, effectively shutting Armin up.

 

He threw his head back and let out a moan. It felt so, so good.

 

Eren massaged him a few more times, and then licked the tip. This caused Armin’s legs to buckle. “Eren…it feels…so good. Please…”

 

Eren didn’t need telling twice. He took Armin, all of him, into his mouth. Armin was whimpering, too blissfully unaware to even muster up a moan. Eren bobbed his head up and down, up and down.

 

“Ngh-Eren, I’m getting close. You’re going to have to stop soon.” But he didn’t stop. “Eren, Eren! Stop!” Still, Eren bobbed faster and faster. “Eren! I’m so close! Sto- Oh god, I’m coming!” Armin said. Knowing it was too late to go back now, he firmly grabbed the back of Eren’s head and started pushing it into his crotch, back and forth, faster and faster. Unable to hold it back any longer, he shot once, twice, three times into Eren’s mouth.

 

Eren took it like a champ, not spilling a drop. Afterward, Armin pulled out his now soft cock. Eren went over to a garbage can, and spit out Armin’s babies.

 

“That tastes gross.” Eren admitted.

 

“Your fault. We are literally twenty minutes from putting on a show, and you go and do this.”

 

“Hey, I said it tasted gross, I never said I regretted it.” Eren retorted, shooting Armin a loving smile.

 

He walked over, and put one arm around Armin’s shoulders. Armin snuggled up to him, affectionately. Looking up at him, Armin smiled back.

 

“What’s up?” Eren asked.

 

“What do you mean?” Armin replied.

 

“Well, you just look as though something’s wrong.” Eren said, concernedly.

 

“What? Nothing is wrong!” Armin said. “I’m literally smiling at you.”

 

“Yeah, but I know the love of my life better than that.” Eren said. “You could be smiling up a storm and have one little thing wrong, and I’d be able to tell.”

 

Armin paused. “It’s just…when you didn’t text back, I first assumed the worst had happened. Then I thought maybe you chose not to text me, and that you and I were finished. When I found out what happened, I was so absolutely relieved. I guess I just have a lot of mixed emotions right now.”

 

Eren gave him a very serious expression. “Armin Arlert. I am never going to leave you. I am never going to hurt you, to the best of my ability. I will always be yours, and I will never, ever, not in a million years, even if the sun explodes and we are separated by galaxies, stop loving you. Never get any other notion in your head, because unless you hear it from me, which will _not_ happen, I will be forever yours.”

 

Armin threw himself at Eren, and hugged him tighter than ever before. Tighter than anyone had ever hugged anyone in the history of hugging. He was smiling, crying, and he just didn’t care. Was he wearing stage makeup? Of course! Was it running? Oh yeah! Did he care? Nope! Why? Because he had the absolute best boyfriend in the world.

 

“Alright, alright” Eren’s muffled voice said. “We should be heading back now. There is a show to put on, after all.”

 

“Oh shit!” Armin said, breaking apart. “We have to go, like now!”

 

 

==============================================

 

 

“Ladies and gentleman”, Armin began, lights blaring down on him, “Please turn off all cell phones, as they do not exist in the world you are about to enter. Flash photography is also a few hundred years off, so please avoid that until after the show. It brings me great pleasure to present to you…HAMLET.

 

 

==============================================

 

 

The show was an utter success. Tears were shed, laughter was heard throughout the auditorium, and Armin could not have been happier. Eren was amazing. Heck, everyone was amazing. The only person who messed up was Armin, and it was only a minor line mishap. He’d been too busy watching Eren move as hamlet, and had completely forgotten his line, but only for a second.

 

Towards the end of the show, Armin looked out at the audience, only briefly. It was his turn to speak, so he turned back to Eren, and said his line. But in that quick glance, he could have sworn he’d seen Grisha Yeager in the audience, smiling.

 

 


	16. The Story of Our Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been so hard to write. I literally had to stop and just sit, staring at my computer. I have so many happy and sad emotions going through me right now, and it doesn't help that I was listening to deep music the whole time I was writing this. The playlist can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc2cN_dxlT4
> 
> By the way! I'm a DJ for weddings and corporate events, so all of this stuff is stuff I've experienced myself :D 
> 
> It's been so awesome to be able to share this with all of you. I just want to thank you all so, so very much for sticking with me throughout this whole crazy ride. I can't believe it's finally over, but here it is...
> 
> The final chapter of To Be Or Not To Be.

 

 

Tie? Straight. Belt? Check. Cuffs? Check. Confidence? Where the hell had he put that? Oh, right, can’t misplace what you don’t have.

 

Armin stared at himself in the mirror. His Baby blue suit, white vest and matching tie were ironed to a crisp, his shoes were shined to perfection, and the apprehension on his face was clear to see. _Jesus, this is the most nervous I’ve ever felt in my life. What if I don’t look good enough? What if I can’t pull this off? Can I even do this? I don’t even think I can do this. Oh my god, I can’t do this._

 

“Jesus Christ, shut up Armin.” Said a voice from behind him.

 

Turning, he saw Jean enter the room. Jean too was in a suit, though his was grey, with a bright blue vest and white tie.

 

“W-what did you say to me? I wasn’t even saying anything!” Armin said, defensively.

 

“I could hear your thought process from the other end of this building. I think it was probably intercepted by several radio frequencies. It’s obvious you’re worrying, and you need to stop. Sure, I may look better than you in this fine ass outfit, but that’s just because there are none that can compare to these glutes.” He turned, showing Armin his backside. “I mean, look at these babies.”

 

Armin laughed, and with that laugh, he felt a good portion of his fears melt away. He walked over to Jean, and hugged him. Jean was a little taken aback at first, but then hugged back.

 

“Thank you, Jean. This is why I picked you.”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

It was time.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They’d planned the entire thing together. From the pre ceremony music, to the final dance. Everything was perfect, and everything was expensive. But, for the last four years together, they’d been saving up. Times had been hard, and work had sucked, but they’d done it. Together.

 

Armin walked very slowly up to the double wide doors. He could hear the playlist they’d chosen coming from the speakers. _Vitamin String Quartet._ They were a group that took popular songs and made violin instrumentals, and Armin was tearing up just listening to them. _Oh god, if I’m tearing up now, how will the rest of this damn night go?_

 

He made it to the doors.

 

His heartbeat quickened.

 

He felt himself starting to heat up, and knew he’d be sweating soon.

 

His heartbeat went faster.

 

He couldn’t do this.

 

His heartbeat went faster still.

 

He couldn’t.

 

Suddenly, everything seemed to go quiet, and still. There wasn’t a sound in the room, and even Vitamin String Quartet’s beautiful melody had seemed to cease. It was then that Armin realized one thing, and once he did, it solidified into a concrete conclusion that would never again be challenged.

 

They _had_ done this already. They’d done it together, and no matter how much life had thrown at them, they had always stayed thus. And because of that, Armin knew: he _could_ do this.

 

Suddenly, in a rush of sound, he heard everything again. VSQ came back, and even the wind started to pick up.

 

Armin adjusted his tie, took a deep breath, and opened the doors.

 

Sunlight hit him in the eyes. Blinking, he held his hand up, and, blocking the sun, couldn’t help but grin widely at the array before him. Rows and rows of white chairs were staged on either side of the aisle, while flowers and rose pedals were scattered along it. At the end of the aisle, on the ground, were hundreds of white lilies, all perfectly fitted and sculptured to form a heart. And at the base of the heart, standing in all his glory, in a white suit that seemed to shine in the light, stood Eren.

 

Everyone seated turned, and seeing Armin, stood up. The music died out, to be replaced by Owl City’s song, “All about Us”.

 

He slowly made his way up the aisle, his eyes never leaving Eren. He had his usual look of determination on his face, as well as a wide smile and a twinkle in his eye that was only ever reserved for Armin. His features hadn’t changed in the four years since high school, though he looked much older, he still retained his childlike features.

 

Every part of him was screaming in joy that this day had finally come, and he felt a tear roll down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, knowing that the photographer had still probably managed to get a picture of him crying, and that he would never live it down.

 

When he finally reached the aisle, he heard Eren whisper a breathy “Hey”. He then grabbed Armin’s hands, and held them. The officiant, Reiner, whom they’d stayed in contact with after high school, took this as his cue to speak. Before he did, the DJ turned off the music, so there was a second of silence.

 

“You may now be seated.” Reiner said, and his voice was carried through the microphone he wore on his vest.

 

Once the crowd obliged, he continued.

 

“Marriage is not something I ever thought I would do. Be it getting married, or performing a marriage ceremony. I now can cross both of those off my list.” He gave a nod to Bertolt, who was sitting in the front row. “I never thought I would find someone, but I did, and we have been happy together ever since.”

 

The crowed shuffled a little, obviously wondering why Reiner was talking about himself.

 

“In my entire life, I’ve seen people love each other very much. I’ve seen happiness; I’ve seen sadness. I’ve seen joy; I’ve seen pain. I’ve seen everything a couple can and can’t be. But, never before have I seen so much happiness and joy come from two people as I have in Eren and Armin. Their relationship is the perfect union; it has all the positives, and none of the negatives. It is everything that everyone should strive to have, and most will never know such happiness. One look at their relationship should give everyone hope that true love is out there, and is just waiting to be grasped.”

 

A pause, then:

 

“Who so gives this man, Armin Arlert?”

 

From the crowd, Armin’s Grandfather stood up. He had a huge smile on his face, and was crying freely.

 

“I do. Armin, I wish you the best and I know that Eren will treat you better than anyone else. If not, he’ll have to answer to this old fart.” The crowd laughed.

 

Reiner nodded at him. “And who so gives this man, Eren Yeager?”

 

On the other side of the Aisle, another man stood up. While four years had aged him considerably, Eren’s father was unmistakable.

 

“I do. Eren, while we may not have always seen eye to eye, I have always wanted what was best for you. Any negativity I had towards you and Armin’s relationship was only because you were in high school, and still a child under my roof. I would have reacted the same way if it had been a girl. Armin, I know you’ll do right by Eren’s side, and one look at him when he’s around you lets me know that this is exactly what he wants. By extension, it is exactly what I want. I wish you both nothing but the best, and I love you, Eren. I also vow to love you as well, Armin, like a son.”

 

Armin was speechless. While things had gotten much better with Eren and his father, Armin hadn’t known that his outlook on their relationship had been _that_ positive. And, oh great, he was crying again.

 

Eren, too, looked shocked, but nodded towards his father, who took his seat.

 

Once he had, Reiner regained control of the crowd. “Thank you both. With that said, I will move onto the vows. Eren, do you vow to love Armin forever and always? Do you vow to keep him close when he is in need, comfort him when he has hardship, and love him, unconditionally, through sickness and in health, to have and to hold, till death do you part, so help you god?”

 

Never breaking eye contact with Armin, he said, “I do. I so do.”

 

Content with this, Reiner turned to him.

 

“And Armin, do you vow to love Eren forever and always? Do you vow to keep him close when he is in need, comfort him when he has hardship, and love him, unconditionally, through sickness and in health, to have and to hold, till death do you part, so help you god?”

 

Without even sparing it a second thought, Armin replied. “I do.”

 

“Then, the rings.”

 

Armin turned, and Jean, who was Armin’s best man, placed the ring in his palm. They’d both picked simple gold bands. They didn’t need diamonds to know that this was forever.

 

“Armin, hold out your hand.” He did as he was told, and Eren placed a ring on it. His touch was intoxicating, even after all this time.

 

“Eren, now you.” Eren obliged, and, shaking slightly, Armin placed a ring on the other’s finger. When he was pulling his hands away, Eren grabbed one, and gave it a light squeeze.

 

“Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, Armin Arlert, and you, Eren Arlert, man and man. You may now kiss.”

 

This was it. Eren leaned in, as did Armin, and they kissed in front of the whole congregation. The music blared, and the crowd went wild.

 

And no matter what was to happen, no matter what troubles they would go through, no matter the hardships, or difficult times, Armin knew one thing:

 

They would do it together.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to have Reiner be an officient and Eren take Armin's last name, okay? 
> 
>  
> 
> Again, thank you so much...I love you all. Please let me know what you think, and I'll see you all when I write my next story. 
> 
> -Shawn


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